Bombay High Court dismisses blaming volcanic ash from Ethiopia for Mumbai’s poor air quality

Mumbai, Nov 27 (PTI) The Bombay High Court emphasized that authorities cannot attribute the air pollution in the metropolis to ash clouds from the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia. The court pointed out that the air quality index in Mumbai has been poor long before the eruption occurred. A bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad was requested to address several pleas dating back to 2023 concerning the city’s air pollution. Senior counsels Darius Khambata and Janak Dwarkadas, representing the petitioners, highlighted that the AQI in Mumbai has consistently been above 300 this month. Despite the additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan’s claim that the recent volcanic eruption in Ethiopia aggravated air pollution, the court dismissed this argument by noting that air quality issues predated the eruption. The court stated, ‘Even before this eruption, if one stepped out, visibility was poor beyond 500 meters.’