Air Quality Index in Mumbai Remains Poor Even Before Eruption of Volcanic Ash in Ethiopia: High Court Reports

The lawyers representing the petitioners, senior counsels Darius Khambatta and Janak Dwarkadas, informed the court that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai had been consistently poor throughout this month. The government pleader attributed the worsened air quality to the recent volcanic eruption that occurred earlier this week. The eruption of the long-dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano in northern Ethiopia, after more than 12,000 years, sent a massive ash cloud across the Red Sea towards South Asia. Despite this event, the court noted that the air quality in the city was already poor before the eruption. The bench remarked, ‘Even before this, if one stepped out, the visibility was poor beyond 500 meters.’ Expressing concern, the court requested the authorities to present effective measures to address the alarming AQI levels, drawing parallels with the situation in Delhi.