Mumbai Sees 231 Days of Good Air Quality in 2026, BMC Targets 235 by Year-End

Mumbai has recorded 231 days of good or satisfactory air quality so far in 2026, surpassing the 222 days reported during the entire previous year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakne said the civic body aims to maintain the Air Quality Index (AQI) below 100, in line with directions issued by a state-appointed high-powered committee.

According to Central Pollution Control Board standards, an AQI of 0-50 is classified as good, while 51-100 is considered satisfactory. Dhakne said the city’s air quality generally improves during the monsoon but deteriorates after the rains. The BMC expects the number of good and satisfactory air quality days to exceed 235 by the end of 2026.

To tackle pollution, the civic body has introduced 28-point guidelines for construction sites and deployed 76 ward-level squads to conduct surprise inspections. Each squad carries out at least two inspections daily. Violations can attract show-cause notices, stop-work orders and sealing of sites.

The BMC has also made sensor-based air quality monitors mandatory at construction sites. So far, 3,166 sites have installed monitors connected to a central dashboard. Measures to control construction dust include covering vehicles transporting debris, washing their wheels and tracking construction waste disposal.

The civic body is also undertaking deep cleaning of roads and deploying 29 multipurpose vehicles for routine sweeping. Of Mumbai’s 593 bakeries, 384 have shifted to cleaner fuels, while 69 are converting. Another 87 remain non-compliant and eight have shut down. The BMC has directed the closure of bakeries continuing to use firewood.

Additionally, the civic body is installing air pollution control devices at 10 crematoria and monitoring open-burning hotspots. Earlier this month, the BMC issued its Winter Air Pollution Mitigation and Enforcement Action Plan 2026, targeting open burning, road dust, polluting vehicles and construction-site violations. The guidelines also prohibit burning firewood for cooking or heating at construction sites.