Bombay High Court Rejects Ethiopian Volcanic Ash as Cause for Mumbai's Persistent Air Pollution Crisis

The air quality in Mumbai has been significantly affected by weather changes, prompting judicial intervention.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected attempts to attribute Mumbai's poor air quality to ash clouds from Ethiopia's volcanic eruption. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad, emphasized that the city's air quality index had been problematic long before the volcanic event.

Senior advocates Darius Khambata and Janak Dwarkadas, representing the petitioners, highlighted that Mumbai's AQI had consistently exceeded 300 throughout the month. When Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan suggested that the recent volcanic eruption in Ethiopia had worsened pollution levels, the court promptly dismissed this explanation.

"Even before this eruption, if one stepped out visibility was poor beyond 500 metres," the court observed.

Drawing parallels with Delhi's alarming air quality situation, the bench inquired about potential effective measures to address the pollution crisis. "What can be the most effective measures? We are all seeing what is happening in Delhi? What is the effect of that," the judges questioned.

The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on Friday.

For context, Hayli Gubbi, a shield volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region, erupted on Sunday, generating a substantial ash plume that rose approximately 14 kilometers (45,000 feet) into the atmosphere. The plume subsequently spread eastward across the Red Sea toward the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent.