Mumbai's overall air quality, at 215, remained in the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday according to the SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) index, faring worse than Delhi where the air quality index (AQI) was at 193 in the ‘moderate’ category. In comparison, the AQI was 207 in Mumbai on Monday morning, and 297 on Sunday morning – just three points short of the 300-mark for the ‘very poor’ category. On Tuesday, in comparison to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai had an AQI of 303 (very poor). On Monday, it was relatively better at 266. The BKC (Bandra-Kurla Complex) and Chembur areas of Mumbai recorded the worst air quality in the region on Tuesday, at 322 and 303, respectively – both in the ‘very poor’ category. Meanwhile, Andheri (201) and Colaba (200) saw AQI in the ‘poor’ category, while Malad (169), Borivali (166), Bhandup (166), Mazgaon (125) and Worli (103) reported figures in the ‘moderate’ category. According to SAFAR's AQI monitoring chart, an AQI of 0-50 is termed ‘good’, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 is termed ‘poor’, 301-400 is ‘very poor’ and beyond 400 the AQI is labelled ‘severe’. SAFAR's health advisory says people with heart or lung diseases, older adults and children should reduce longer or heavy exertion and outdoor activity when AQI is in the ‘poor’ category. Poor air quality poses risks to the elderly, it adds. Similarly, for air quality in the ‘very poor’ category, SAFAR's advisory points that everyone should reduce heavy exertion. SAFAR's health warnings indicate that everyone may experience health effects when AQI is above 300, with significant increase in respiratory problems.
