NEWS

As per Green Peace India report, Bengaluru City’s air pollution exceeds WHO guidelines

DETAILS

• Timeline considered – November 2020 to November 2021
• The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions on economic activity had little impact on improving the air quality of Bengaluru.
• Bengaluru, along with Mangaluru, saw annual PM2.5 levels exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of 5μg/m3 by six to seven times
• PM10 levels –
  • WHO specification – 15 μg/m3
  • Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad exceeded the prescribed by six to seven times.
  • Bengaluru recorded PM10 levels that exceeded the limit by three to four times
• Report analysed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data from 10 cities in South India: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Mangaluru, Puducherry, Coimbatore, and Mysuru.
• Annual average values of PM2.5 and PM10 exceeded WHO revised standards by many fold, showing that rising air pollution levels is not just a health hazard in cities in north India.
• In Bengaluru, air quality data was recorded from 10 monitoring stations set up by the CPCB and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in commercial and industrial areas.