The city’s air quality index (AQI) deteriorated to 319 on Friday, the worst since the fire at the Deonar dumping ground on January 29, 2016, when it was 341. Unusually, parts of Mumbai recorded rains in the early hours of the day; in the last decade, the city had seen January rain only in 2014.
The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said the AQI was 319 in the morning, which improved to 317 by evening. For the second day, the AQI was higher than Delhi’s (221). Meanwhile, IMD’s Santacruz and Colaba observatories logged 0.2mm of rain till 8.30am on Friday.