Bengaluru to see 74% rise in air pollution by 2030, says a study

BENGALURU: A study by Urbanemissions.info along with researchers from the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) reveals that the pollution in Bengaluru may see an increase of 74 per cent by 2030, primarily due to vehicle exhaust, construction activities and on-road dust which cause the increase in rise of PM10 pollutants in the air.

The city’s immense growth, particularly in vehicles and construction activity that produces considerable amount of dust in the air, and the city’s increasing reliance on private mode of transport also account for increase in the particulate matter in air in last few years causing air pollution.

In 2010, the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) emissions inventory (for just 634 sq km of the city) projected that PM10 levels would witness a growth of 100 per cent by 2017 from the levels they had tabulated. However, the CSTEP’s study (which covered 4,300 sq km) finds that the rise was a staggering 300 per cent. Another study which was published in the journal – Atmospheric Pollution Research, states that for 2015 the city emitted an estimated 31,300 tonnes of PM2.5 and 67,100 tonnes of PM10 pollutants.

Sarath Guttikunda, director, Urban Emissions said, “While we have covered a larger area in our study, even in the areas taken up by the CPCB there is a considerable increase in pollution. The immense increase in construction activity and vehicles was beyond their expectations.”