The Bombay High Court has expressed shock that Mumbai is surpassing Delhi in pollution indexes, pointing out that visibility in the city had plummeted below 500 metres on Tuesday and describing the situation lakhs of citizens are facing as an emergency. A bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Dr Neela Gokhale recorded its strong displeasure over bureaucratic inertia, saying the wheels of the official machinery appear to be turning too slowly to comply even with basic preliminary compliances ordered by the court.

Source: Bar and Bench

The court directed the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to convene a meeting with all police station in-charges, formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and file an affidavit confirming that the ban on street firecrackers and unpermitted sound systems is strictly enforced. It warned that any dereliction by the police machinery adversely affecting citizens' rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution would be viewed seriously. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board were likewise directed to publish public awareness notices by October 24 and submit compliance affidavits, with the next hearing scheduled for October 26.

Source: Bar and Bench

Separately, the BMC said Mumbai recorded 231 days in the 'good' and 'satisfactory' Air Quality Index categories in 2026 up to October 22, up from 218 in 2025, citing data from the PRANA portal. For the winter season, the civic body has issued its Winter Air Pollution Mitigation and Enforcement Action Plan 2026, covering construction-site compliance, road dust, open burning, pollution hotspots and vehicle checks, the news agency ANI reported.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

231good/satisfactory AQI days in Mumbai in 2026 up to Oct 22 (BMC)
218such days in 2025 (BMC)
3,166construction sites with sensor-based AQI monitors integrated with BMC dashboard
593bakeries in Mumbai covered by cleaner-fuel conversion

The BMC said sensor-based air-quality monitors are mandatory at construction sites, and 3,166 sites have installed them and integrated them with a central dashboard. To control road dust, it undertakes deep cleaning and routine sweeping, deploying 29 multipurpose vehicles, and developers and contractors are required to clean adjoining roads. Non-compliance with the guidelines can invite enforcement action, including show-cause notices, stop-work notices and sealing of sites.

On bakery emissions, the BMC said they contribute approximately 3.5 per cent of Mumbai's particulate matter emissions. Of the city's 593 bakeries, 209 were already using cleaner fuels and another 175 have converted, 69 are undergoing conversion, 87 remain non-compliant and eight have closed. The civic body is also installing air-pollution control devices at 10 crematoria and maintaining surveillance at identified open-burning hotspots, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via NewKerala

What is solid

  • The Bombay High Court called Mumbai's pollution situation an emergency, noted visibility below 500 metres, and set the next hearing for October 26 (Bar and Bench).
  • The court directed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to hold a meeting of station in-charges, frame an SOP and file a compliance affidavit (Bar and Bench).
  • The BMC issued its Winter Air Pollution Mitigation and Enforcement Action Plan 2026 and cited 231 good/satisfactory AQI days in 2026 up to October 22, versus 218 in 2025 (ANI).

What is only claimed

  • The BMC's AQI-day count and emissions figures are the civic body's own data, cited from the PRANA portal; they are presented here as the BMC's figures, not as an independent measurement.
  • Whether the court's directions produce ground-level enforcement is untested; the compliance affidavits due this week will be the first check.