
Actress Soni Razdan, who is the mother of Bollywood star Alia Bhatt, has called for urgent seasonal measures to tackle Mumbai's deteriorating air quality, saying winter conditions demand a different plan to keep the city's smog in check.
Soni on Friday took to Instagram, where she shared a news article about Mumbai facing its "toughest winter air phase in years." In a strongly worded appeal, the actress pointed out that land and sea breezes weaken during the colder months, trapping pollutants close to the ground.
She wrote: "The land and Sea breezes are affected in winter, which is one of the reasons why we always get the smog hanging in the air."
Soni added: "If this was May, the same amount of pollution would look different."
The actress noted, adding that the city cannot apply the same rules year-round when winter consistently brings a heavy blanket of smog.
"The point is we need a different plan for these months. How are we going to help ourselves? Construction has become more unregulated with longer hours being allowed. This has to change for these particular months."
For the caption, Soni wrote: "All those who agree please repost this post and tag @my_bmc. Let us not be guilty of allowing apathy to kill us. Because that's what will happen."
On the acting front, Soni was last seen in Songs of Paradise, directed by Danish Renzu. The lead role is played by Saba Azad, Soni and Zain Khan Durrani. The film also stars Taaruk Raina, Lillete Dubey, Sheeba Chaddha, Shishir Sharma, and Lalit Parimoo.
This story follows the journey of a Kashmiri woman who dreams of becoming a singer, inspired by the music of Raj Begum. Raj Begum, known as the Melody Queen of Kashmir, was a Padma Shri awardee and a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Krish, a Class 12 student at Sanskriti School, and Samarth, a Class 11 student at Vasant Valley School, are the founders of Project Vayu. Krish has been named to the 2026 Diana Award Roll of Honour for the initiative.
All are hoping for rain that may wash away the toxic cloud hanging overhead. But the weather office ended that hope today, saying rain is unlikely in the plains. There might be some over the Himalayan region, but none is expected in Delhi, where the pollution has reached severe levels.
According to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report, the average PM2.5 concentration during the week before Diwali stood at 236 micrograms per cubic metre, almost double the 120 ug/m3 recorded in 2025. It was also the highest pre-Diwali average in three years.
The transport sector is expected to be the largest contributor to pollution on Wednesday, while the impact of stubble burning is anticipated to increase on Thursday, potentially worsening air quality further over the next few days, according to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology models.
Air pollution in Delhi-NCR has worsened during the onset of winter (from October to mid-November) this year. This has been revealed in a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment or CSE, an organisation that monitors environmental issues.
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