Mumbai sees significant improvement in air quality following BMC measures

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 2 : The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has reported a marked improvement in Mumbai's air quality, attributing the positive trend to strict enforcement of pollution-control measures across the city and its suburbs, an official release said.
The action will continue against private construction sites and government projects that violate air-pollution control guidelines. The Graded Response Action Plan Stage-4 (GRAP-4) is currently not applicable to Mumbai.
According to the BMC release, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani has issued strict instructions to ensure compliance with all pollution-control measures.
The BMC has been implementing various strong measures to curb air pollution across Greater Mumbai (city and suburbs). These measures apply to both private projects and major government works, such as roads and metro construction. Wind speed in the region has also improved, contributing to better air quality.
Owing to these combined efforts, Mumbai's Air Quality Index (AQI) has shown continuous improvement since 26 November 2025, with significant progress recorded in the past 48 hours.
The BMC has emphasised strict enforcement of the earlier 28-point guideline, and several construction projects have been served "stop work" notices for non-compliance. Commissioner and Administrator Shri Bhushan Gagrani has instructed that action must continue against all private, government, and semi-government projects violating these directives. He also clarified that GRAP-4 is currently not applicable to Mumbai, though monitoring has been intensified.
Following the Commissioner's directives, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Ashwini Joshi is overseeing the on-ground implementation of various measures.
Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani stated that BMC has been proactively implementing multiple initiatives to control air pollution in Greater Mumbai. These include converting bakeries and crematoriums to cleaner fuels, using misting machines for dust suppression, washing roads with water, conducting special cleanliness drives, and running public awareness campaigns.
To support pollution mitigation, BMC issued comprehensive 28-point guidelines on 15 October 2024. To ensure strict compliance, 94 mobile squads have been deployed across all administrative wards. These teams are actively inspecting private construction sites and road and metro projects, and issuing notices whenever norms are violated. They are also checking the functioning of sensor-based AQI monitoring devices installed at construction locations.
Gagrani further noted that the Mumbai Port Authority has responded positively to BMC's instructions to stop bonfires (shekottis) in its premises.
Thanks to these ongoing measures, Mumbai's AQI has been steadily improving since 26 November 2025. Before 28 November, the wind speed was only 3-4 km/hr, accompanied by high humidity. Now, wind speed has increased to 10-18 km/hr, contributing substantially to better air quality.
Gagrani appealed to all private, government, and semi-government projects to strictly adhere to pollution-control guidelines, urged bakeries to convert to clean fuels at the earliest, and called upon citizens to avoid burning waste in the open and to support BMC's efforts.