It’s time to bring out the face masks, particularly for those living in and around Deonar, with these areas registering ‘very poor’ air quality following the blaze at the dumping ground.

Pollution rose across the rest of the city as well, with Mumbai witnessing an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 222 yesterday. This is expected to dip to 227 today, which falls in the poor air quality category. However, at Chembur the air quality was very poor at an AQI of 301, with barely any change expected today (300). Such pollution levels can give rise to respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.