BENGALURU: Here’s a small silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic. Air pollution in Bengaluru dropped by 28 per cent during the lockdown, reveals a recent analysis. It was completed by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air on behalf of the Health and Environment Alliance and the Global Climate and Health Alliance. In 2019, the Healthy Air Coalition was launched, which installed air quality monitors in the city.
Data for a 45-day period before the lockdown was compared with data from a 45-day period during the lockdown. The results showed a variation in pollution levels across the city. The lowest cut (14 per cent) was at Halasuru hospital whereas Bellandur lake saw the greatest cut (a drop of 75 per cent). Aishwarya Sudhir, coordinator of Healthy Air Coalition, said, “It appears that pollution from PM2.5 has been cut by more than a quarter on average. In some places air quality has actually met WHO safe levels, possibly for the first time in two decades.”
The three least polluted locations in terms of PM2.5 levels in Bengaluru during the first 45 days of national lockdown were the monitoring station near Bellandur Lake, monitoring station near Varthur Lake and monitoring station at Hosur Road and Outer Ring road intersection.