The aftermath of Cyclone Nisarg which rampaged parts of Maharashtra on the afternoon of June 3 leaving four dead was shockingly pleasant. As per reports by the Hindustan Times, the city of Mumbai witnessed its cleanest air on June 3 after the cyclone carrying strong winds swept away particulate matter.
As per System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 22 falling under the ‘good’ category and the lowest for the year.
The cleanest air was recorded in Mazgaon, with AQI of four, while the least clean air was in Malad and Borivali with AQI of 43. Prior to June 3, the lowest AQI this year was recorded at 25 on May 23. The cleanest air day so far since SAFAR began air quality monitoring was on September 4, 2019.
‘The wind speed was 72 km/h on Wednesday in Mumbai which dispersed pollutants combined with intermittent showers that cleared the air,’ said Gufran Beig, director, SAFAR in a report to Hindustan Times.
The concentration of PM 2.5, a breathable particulate matter of 2.5-micron size, was as low as 15 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3) on Wednesday against the World Health Organisation (WHO) safe limit of 25 μg/m3 for 24 hours and 60 μg/m3.
Furthermore, it was also observed that Lockdown since the last week of March had also contributed largely to low levels of pollution in the state.
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