Mumbai: Parts of the city witnessed rainfall along with thunder after experiencing sweltering temperatures with Sunday being the hottest day for Mumbai at 38.1 degrees Celcius.
The rain has brought temporary but a much-needed respite for Mumbaikars from the soaring temperature and the consistently poor air quality as many areas of the city witnessed moderate AQI yet the city's overall AQI remained 'poor'.
On rainy days, most of the common pollutants in the air are washed away, thus improving the air quality. However, only if the rain is between light to moderate do the pollutants wash away. If there is only a light drizzle then the moisture may absorb the pollutants and remain in the air which will result in the formation of smog.
On Tuesday morning, the city's temperature stood at 26.2°C despite the rain while the humidity was 44%.
'Poor' air quality
Seeing the current AQI levels, the rain seems to have not affected the city's overall air quality. As per SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), Mumbai's AQI was at 269 as of 8 am on Tuesday, putting it in the 'poor' category. The PM2.5 and PM10 levels stood at 269 and 172 units, respectively.
AQI of different areas in Mumbai
Colaba: 176 AQI Moderate
Sion: 176 AQI Moderate
Worli: 129 AQI Moderate
Mulund: 173 AQI Moderate
Kandivali: 209 AQI Poor
Navi Mumbai: 215 AQI Poor
