On Thursday, Maharashtra Environment and Climate Change Minister Pankaja Munde had also convened a high-level meeting to tackle Mumbai's deteriorating air quality
The Air Quality Index in Mumbai was 175 on Wednesday, which falls under the 'poor' category. It improved to 153 on Thursday. On Friday evening, the AQI further dipped to 119
However, air quality remains in the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' category, with particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) levels remaining a significant concern
Officials had said that construction activities, particularly large-scale residential projects and infrastructure developments, have contributed to the rising pollution levels in Mumbai
Earlier, in response to high pollution levels, BMC activated GRAP 4 (Graded Response Action Plan) in areas with the worst AQI readings
In a meeting on December 30, Gagrani ordered a complete shutdown of construction activity in Borivli East for 24 hours, stating work would only resume once sites demonstrated full compliance with the Dust Mitigation Guidelines
On December 31, improvements in AQI readings were already apparent: the Borivli East - Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) AQI dipped to 97, and Byculla recorded 131
On December 30. BMC outlined a list of measures taken to mitigate air pollution in the city. It informed that a total of 45 air quality control machines have been installed to check the air quality at various places in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)
The civic body also informed that all its departments have to identify the effects of air pollution and climate change and take action on it unitedly
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