India, Oct. 23 -- Beyond established two factors contributing to Mumbai's air pollution -- vehicular emissions and construction dust - the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has identified sodium chloride particles originating from seawater as significant contributors to the city's deteriorating air quality, saying they react with pollutants released by vehicles and industries to produce atmospheric haze.

Mumbai recorded an AQI of 102 on Thursday, placing it in the unhealthy category. The city has experienced unhealthy air quality on 10 days so far this month. Of the 22 active monitoring stations, 10 reported unhealthy air quality on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, additional municipal commissioner Avinash Dha...