Air pollution in Bangalore, India

Experts say Bangalore's AQI may not be as clean as advertised. nor is it said that the monitoring stations may not be up to the mark for most of the year.

While values set by a group of continuous ambient air quality monitoring (CAAQM) stations paint a rosy picture of the city, air quality experts say the number and location of monitoring stations in the city are not up to par.

Experts say that while Bangalore's altitude, geography and climate, resulting in many windy days and very few stagnant days, controls its AQI to some extent, this does not explain the "satisfactory" air quality for a better part of the year.

The traffic pollution and car emissions in Bangalore are just as bad as in any other big city like New Delhi. While Bangalore has the advantage of its geographic location and meteorological factors that cause pollutants to drift toward the plains, this alone cannot justify a permanently green AQI in the city while the rest of the country is moving in the other direction. Site selection for air quality monitoring stations is important.

Each real-time air quality monitoring sensor used by KSPCB currently costs around Rs 1.5 crore.
State pollution control authorities do not have such facilities. However, a dense network can be created using alternative technologies, such as low-cost sensors, to better understand the level of pollution in a city.

All 10 air quality monitoring stations in the city of Bengaluru have recorded pollution higher than World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, environmental advocacy group Greenpeace has revealed in a grim report.
The report underlined cities across India are breathing polluted air and that pollution is not limited to north Indian cities. “India's report Airpocalypse IV highlighted that more than 80% of cities/towns had PM10 levels exceeding the 60µg/m3 limits for PM10 prescribed under National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board).”

As many as two million school children in Bengaluru, India, are potentially exposed to hazardous air pollution during the school day, risking asthma, allergic rhinitis, and other chronic health effects, according to a report released today by the Bengaluru Healthy Air Coalition.

The report, "Protecting Bengaluru's Children: Time To Act For Clean Air Around Schools," examined air quality data recorded near 270 schools for 14 months and found that 70,000 children attending these schools breathe polluted air year-round, with particularly poor air quality during the seven months from October through April, and when students leave school throughout the year.

"Unless urgent action is taken by state agencies and the Karnataka chief secretary of state to quickly reduce air pollution in Bengaluru, we will be dealing with a much greater health burden in the future."

Data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board and the Karnataka state government through 22 air quality monitoring (AQM) stations before the lockout shows that the average monthly PM-2.5 concentrations recorded in Bengaluru are generally below the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQ).

Therefore, the Karnataka government should ensure the use of greener building technologies, improve vehicle emission testing systems, encourage people to scrap cars older than 15 years, and accelerate the construction of mass transit systems (including ring railroads and subways).

A study found that even if air pollution levels drop by 30 percent by 2024, as mandated by the National Clean Air Program (NCAP), seven cities, including Bengaluru, will continue to breathe polluted air above the NAAQS even in 2024.

The data were released by Greenpeace India as part of Tuesday's Airpocalypse III report, which identified 139 cities across India with air pollution levels above national standards, but they were not included in the NCAP. In fact, only 12 of the 43 "smart cities" planned by the government meet NAAQ standards.

A new independent study that focused on Bengaluru’s air quality, by recording data on seven arterial roads over a week, has revealed that Bengaluru’s air quality, during peak hours of traffic, is comparable to some of the most polluted cities in the.

The study by Climate Trends monitored the breathable air quality level or Personalised Exposure (PE) to particulate pollutants PM2.5 and PM10 levels during peak traffic time (morning and evening) for seven days, for commuters.

According to KSPCB data, the study said that PM2.5 values have exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (40.0 μg/m3) by 3% to 45%, at all nine locations, due to vehicular traffic increase and construction activities.

Air pollution levels monitored by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) show that the respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) values exceeded the national ambient air quality standards (60 μg/m{+3}) in the range of 20 to 215 percent.

The RSPM levels near two hospitals in the city — Victoria and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health Hospital in NIMHANS — had also exceeded the desired levels by 66 and 88 percent, respectively.

Bengaluru is in the grip of growing air pollution. Official ambient air quality monitoring has already shown a 57% increase in particulate matter in just four years.

CSE exposure monitoring has provided compelling evidence of the alarming dose that the average Bangalore resident breathes daily in different parts of the city - 3 to 12 times higher than the ambient levels recorded by official monitors.

With the increasing number of cars and the resulting congestion and dieselization, air pollution is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the city.