HC Dismisses Ethiopia Volcano Link: Mumbai’s Poor AQI Existed Before Ash Cloud

The Bombay High Court today dismissed the state authorities’ attempt to blame the recent volcanic eruption in Ethiopia for the ongoing poor air quality in Mumbai.¹ Hearing a batch of pleas concerning air pollution, a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted that the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was concerning long before the Ethiopian development.²

Court Rejects Government’s Claim

• Government’s Stance: Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan suggested that air pollution had worsened due to the eruption of the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia two days prior (which erupted on Sunday).³
• Court’s Observation: The Bombay High Court firmly discarded this claim, pointing out the long-standing issue of pollution:⁴“Even before this eruption, if one stepped out visibility was poor beyond 500 metres.”

The court emphasized that the poor air quality index in Mumbai has been present “much before the Ethiopian volcanic ash development.”⁵

The Ethiopia Ash Cloud

The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia reportedly erupted on Sunday for the first time in recorded history, sending an ash plume as high as ⁶$14\text{ kilometers}$ towards the Indian subcontinent.⁷

• The ash cloud reached Delhi on Monday evening but quickly drifted towards China, clearing Indian skies the next day.⁸
• Weather experts had already noted that the high-altitude ash cloud had no major impact on Delhi’s already ‘very poor’ surface-level AQI.⁹

Mumbai AQI and HC Directive

The petitioners, represented by senior counsels Darius Khambata and Janak Dwarkadas, stated that Mumbai’s AQI has been consistently poor (above 300) this month. As of Thursday afternoon, Mumbai’s overall AQI stood at $172$ (Moderate), though it was dangerously close to the “Poor” category on Wednesday.

Referring to the alarming AQI levels in Delhi, the Bombay High Court bench pressed authorities for action: “What can be the most effective measures? We are all seeing what is happening in Delhi? What is the effect of that.”

The matter is posted for further hearing tomorrow, Friday, November 28.