India’s polluted Mumbai, behind only China’s Beijing in poor air quality, issues new construction rules to combat smog
- Mumbai has asked construction sites to use barricades and banned the burning of rubbish on open ground in a bid to fight worsening air quality
- The move comes two days after Swiss group IQAir rated Mumbai as the world’s second most polluted city on Monday
Among the guidelines released on Wednesday by Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp (BMC), construction sites in the city were asked to erect barricades at building sites of up to 35-feet (10.67m) using tin or metal sheets, or enclose the sites with tarpaulin.
Mumbai recorded an AQI of 157 on Wednesday, according to India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), giving it a rating of “moderate”.
New Delhi, which has been rated the world’s most polluted capital by IQAir for consecutive years, recorded an AQI of 243 and is rated as “poor” by the CPCB.
Pollution is a growing problem in India, whose capital is engulfed by a thick layer of smog every winter as cold, heavy air traps vehicle emissions, smoke, and dust, leaving some of its residents struggling to breathe.
For the coastal city of Mumbai, however, this is a recent phenomenon. Last year, Mumbai recorded air quality worse than that of New Delhi on at least one day in December.