BENGALURU: Bengalureans are filling up their lungs with bad air quality every day. A recent study revealed that the city’s air quality has been declining steadily as measured against the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines.
Greenpeace India’s latest report, ‘Spare the Air’ revealed that Bengaluru has an average PM2.5 concentration of 29.01 μg/m3, 5.8 times higher than the safe levels of 5μg/m3, set by WHO. Similarly, the city’s annual average PM10 concentration was 55.14μg/m3, 3.7 times higher than the safe levels of 15 μg/m3.
“Bengalureans are breathing dangerously polluted air. Vehicular emission is one of the major contributors to urban PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations. The newly formed government must address this with utmost urgency,” said Avinash Chanchal, Campaign Manager, Greenpeace India.
The study was conducted in 11 cities, including Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and several cities in North India. The research analyzed the air quality index (AQI) in each city, and found that it was below standards on every day from September 2021 to September 2022.
Experts said that exposure to severe air pollution increases the likelihood of premature death and many medical conditions, including asthma, preterm birth, low birth weight, depression, schizophrenia, diabetes, stroke, and lung cancer.
Bus must be natural choice
Along with the alarming statistics, the report also suggested measures to improve air quality in the city. Researchers said that bus services must become the natural and primary choice of transport. BMTC fleet size should be doubled and implementing all 11 bus lanes soon, were some of the recommendations.
The organisation also mentioned immediate measures to be taken during ‘pollution episodes’ such as early prediction of air quality, issuing health advisories to the public, hospitals, and schools, and increasing parking fees for vehicles by 3-4 times to encourage public transportation.
Shifa, an avid cyclist, said, “As Bengalureans, it is our responsibility to advocate and demand policies. We must stop being stoic and it is high-time that we take charge of our environment and hold people accountable for it.”