The key environmental issues that Mumbai has suffered from are largely due to the great influx from migrants both internally and externally. Subsequently, issues that have arisen from migration on a larger scale have contributed to unsafe water management conditions as well as water scarcity. State water quality tests taken haven shown that seventy percent of water locations have worsened their water quality conditions and the overall qualities of Mumbai's rivers have greatly deteriorated, posing great risks to the marine animals that inhabit these rivers.
Contributing to air pollution, arises the issue of waste management in the city. Currently, the city produces an estimated 5,000 tons of garbage a day, and as the dumps partake in burning during the evenings, the particulates released into the air have proven to expose the city to high levels of toxic chemicals. Consequently, the city has been known to have a high incidence of respiratory problems among its population with many specifically suffering from chronic bronchitis. Along with dumps contributing to the already poor air quality, chemical industries have been alleged to release noxious chemicals at night. Along with car exhausts, and the emissions released from industrial parks, the air quality of Mumbai has been compared to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
With these issues in mind, it is important to understand how they affect the millions of inhabitants, specifically those below the poverty line. The United Nations projects Mumbai's population to grow to an approximate 27.4 million by 2015, but currently it is estimated that forty percent of those below the poverty line die from water-borne diseases as well as almost half of the poor dying from respiratory diseases. It has also been recognized that due to the location of many of Mumbai's industrial zones, industries have dumped hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous waste onto public land, where most of these poor inhabitants have taken residence and consequently polluted the land and bodies of water which they live on.
Though the future of Mumbai as well as its current and future inhabitants seems grim, the Indian government as taken notice to the deteriorating condition of the land. A private project known as Vision Mumbai has developed changes in pollution control, seeking 1 billion dollars in aid from the Indian government, providing some solutions in alleviating the severe environmental conditions in Mumbai.
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