And the levels may be more than you think because pollution is being measured by machines fixed on rooftops
In a city where vehicles rule the roost, the healthiest mode of commuting – walking – is also the most dangerous when it comes to exposure to air pollution.
This irony was highlighted by a study on the measure of exposure of citizens to air pollution, conducted for the first time in the city by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Walking around K.R. Circle, for instance, exposes a pedestrian to air that is 1.5 times worse than that being inhaled by a passenger in a BMTC bus on the choked stretch of Hosur Road from Brigade Road to Electronic City.
“The exposure is worse considering that those walking or cycling breathe faster and inhale more air than those who travel by car,” said AnumitaRoychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy for CSE, who supervised the study conducted in the second week of December.
But it’s not that those cocooned in air-conditioned cars are safe. While driving through highly polluted roads, they may be breathing in air twice as bad as the prescribed limit.
Currently, the pollution control board measures ambient pollution with machines kept on rooftops. This yields the cloud of pollution that hovers around the city.
However, it is on the street that commuters and pedestrians ‘feel’ the smoke and noxious fumes from vehicles. The street-level exposure was found to be between 3 and 12 times more than what is measured by the Central Pollution Control Board in Bengaluru.
Worst hit area
The area with the worst recorded particulate matter pollution, which is responsible for pulmonary health hazards such as asthma, is Peenya.
Diesel pollutes the most
Only a fourth of the fleet of the BMTC complies with the Bharat Stage IV norms for diesel engines that came into force in 2011.
Out its 6,429 buses, nearly 1,000 buses follow standards set before 2003.
CSE, which drew attention of the Supreme Court to the disproportionate contribution of diesel engines to air pollution in Delhi, believes that these vehicles can contribute up to five times more than a petrol variant.
B. Mukkanna, Chief Mechanical Engineer, BMTC, says, “The government is mulling over adding 3,500 buses to its fleet. Since all these will be of the latest standards, the situation will improve.”
The corporation did attempt using emission-free electric buses, but backed out due to the prohibitive cost of the vehicle.
