Mumbai records best Air Quality Index since 2015

The month of June seems to have been a blessing for Mumbaikars. Mumbai's air quality created a new record as Monday marked the best recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) since 2015 for the city at 18.

System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) that monitors Air Quality Index (AQI) at 10 stations in Mumbai showed that all the stations had low levels of various pollutants.

"It's the best recorded AQI and the reason for it is the rains since Sunday as well as strong winds that clear the air," said Gufran Beig, Project Director, SAFAR.

An AQI level between 0-50 is categorised as 'good' while 51-100 is 'satisfactory' and 101-200, 201-300 and 301-400 is in the 'moderate', 'poor' and 'very poor' categories respectively.

Interestingly, June has so far seen three best air quality day records. The first was on June 4 when the AQI was 34, then June 8 with AQI recorded at 32 and on Monday the AQI as 18 has been the best since June 2015 when the AQI monitoring was initiated.

The PM 2.5 which is the smallest size pollutant known to cause respiratory illnesses and worsens the condition of those suffering from ailments like asthma and bronchitis was in Good Category at all the stations.