Why I Started Breathe

When I landed in London, I noticed the clean air, clean roads and trees in bloom. In Mumbai, I notice dust on the trees. That contrast has stayed with me - because somewhere along the way we started accepting the dust and the haze as normal. I don't want to. With Diwali coming, I'll say this from the heart - I'm worried. If it already feels like this, what will we be breathing then?

I don't have big answers. I believe change starts small and local - each of us planting something, or helping someone who takes care of plants, and simply paying attention to the air we share. Doing something small is still doing something. One person won't clear the sky alone, but together our small actions add up. That belief is why I started Breathe.

The slides below are its first piece, a simple and honest look at what the air numbers mean and what each of us can do. The readings in them were taken on 29 and 30 October 2026 from three different providers, and the rain mentioned fell that week. Air numbers change every day, so read them as a snapshot of those two days.

Clean air matters deeply to me. If it does to you too, tell me - when did you last think about the air around you?

Pratiksha More, CEO and Director, Sustainability 101

Mumbai - the air we take in, every day.

This is where the idea for Breathe begins. We pay attention to what we eat, how much we move and what we drink, because those choices feel within our control. Air feels different, something that simply happens to us. Yet it is the one thing we take in every few seconds of every day. That contrast is the question this carousel asks.

The air around our homes, offices and walks gets no such attention.

Because breathing is automatic, we assume the air is fine. We plan our meals, our workouts and even our water, but the air around our homes, offices and daily walks gets no such attention. The gap between how much air matters and how little we check it is exactly what Breathe wants to close.

But what we see can't tell us if the air is safe. Only measurement can.

You can feel heavy air before you can measure it. A skyline that has lost its sharp horizon, a film of dust on the window by evening, smoke drifting across suburbs - these are everyday signs many of us have quietly started accepting as normal. Even the unseasonal rain over Dadar and Matunga that week did not wash the haze away, as the Free Press Journal reported on 30 October. What we see can warn us, but it cannot tell us whether the air is safe. Only measurement can do that.

Same city, different reporting windows.

Three apps, three very different numbers for the same city. These readings are not directly comparable. Each provider uses its own stations, methods, scale and reporting window. IQAir showed 144 on the US scale at 10:30 AM on 30 October, AQI.in showed 163 on its own scale that morning, and CPCB's 24-hour average to 4 PM on 29 October was 86 on India's national scale, where Poor only begins at 201. Before comparing any two numbers, check which scale and which time window you are looking at.

Too small to see. Small enough to slip in.

PM2.5 is the pollutant behind most of what these readings track. The name means particulate matter up to 2.5 micrometres across - a human hair is about 30 times wider than the largest of these particles. They are too small to see, yet small enough to travel deep into the lungs and even reach the bloodstream, which is why health guidance watches them so closely. They are also the main reason the skyline turns hazy.

A spot reading, not a 24-hour average.

The World Health Organization's 2021 guidelines set 15 micrograms per cubic metre as the 24-hour PM2.5 guideline and 5 as the annual one. At 10:30 AM on 30 October, one Mumbai reading on IQAir showed 53.2. That is a spot reading at a single moment, not a 24-hour average, so it cannot be compared directly with the guideline. Even with that caution, the distance between the two numbers is hard to ignore.

Mostly, from us.

Mostly, it comes from us. The BMC says Mumbai generates over 8,000 tonnes of construction debris every day. Traffic and diesel add a steady stream. Open waste burning sends smoke across suburbs - MPCB officials reported Deonar's smoke drifting towards Chembur and Kurla in mid-October. And the still, post-monsoon air can allow pollutants to build up near ground level.

On bad-air days, a few things actually work.

On bad-air days, a few habits genuinely help. Check your area's AQI on the CPCB Sameer app before stepping out. Move outdoor exercise to a better hour when the reading is poor. If you need a mask, use a certified N95 or FFP2 respirator fitted well, because cloth and paper masks do not provide reliable protection. And time your windows by the readings, not by how the sky looks.

Small, realistic, starting today.

Protecting ourselves is the first step. Reducing the source is the second. Three actions are small, realistic and can start today - one fewer car trip, never burning waste, and reporting debris dumping to the BMC, which takes complaints on uncovered construction waste and illegal dumping. None of these clears the sky alone. Together, they add up.

Tell me when you last thought about the air around you.

This is the question I want to leave you with. When did you last think about the air around you? If any of these slides made you look at the skyline differently, tell me. Breathe starts with that simple act of paying attention.

Where every number came from.

Every number in these slides comes from a named public source, and this card lists them so you can check each one yourself. The full links are on the page that follows. Air numbers change every day, so treat these readings as a snapshot of 29 and 30 October 2026.

Sources

IQAir, Mumbai live page. US AQI 144, PM2.5 53.2 micrograms per cubic metre at 10:30 AM on 30 October 2026. https://www.iqair.com/in-en/air-quality/india/maharashtra/mumbai

CPCB, Daily AQI Bulletin of 29 October 2026 and India's national AQI scale. Mumbai 86, Satisfactory. https://cpcb.nic.in/upload/Downloads/AQI_Bulletin_20261029.pdf

Free Press Journal, 30 October 2026, 8:50 AM IST. Unseasonal showers hit Dadar, Matunga and the western suburbs, AQI remained poor as smog engulfed the city. https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-weather-update-unseasonal-showers-hit-dadar-matunga-western-suburbs-aqi-remains-poor-as-smog-engulfs-city-mumbai-news

US EPA, Particulate Matter (PM) Basics. https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics

US CDC/NIOSH and AirNow, respirators and masks. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ppe/respirators/ffr.html

US EPA, protect yourself from heat and smoke. https://www.epa.gov/wildfires/protect-yourself-heat-and-smoke

WHO, global air quality guidelines 2021. PM2.5 24-hour guideline 15, annual 5 micrograms per cubic metre. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228

Indian Express, 11 October 2026. BMC construction waste and Mumbai's worsening air, over 8,000 tonnes of debris generated every day. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/bmc-construction-waste-mumbai-air-worsens-10916141/

Indian Express, 16 October 2026. Mumbai's air episode, 152 on IQAir versus 98 on CPCB, and Deonar smoke drifting towards Chembur and Kurla. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbais-air-is-worst-in-india-whats-making-it-dangerous-to-breathe-10923693/