Grey smog blanketed the skies of Mumbai past week, turning the sun faint and the lungs noxious. The city noted for its coastal weather and clean breeze is now beating Delhi’s infamous air pollution. According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the primary pollutant PM2.5 was recorded at 308 in the city as compared to Delhi’s reading of 259, last Friday morning. “PM2.5 concentration in Mumbai is currently 11.5 times the World Health Organisation (WHO) annual air quality guideline value”, informed SAFAR’s website.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the state government received strong backlash from citizens over their failure to provide health advisories against the poor air quality. Critics alleged that the civic body didn’t alert the citizens in time and, have been delaying the installation of air monitoring systems and dust mitigation units, a contract they received 18 months ago.