Bengaluru, London to co-host air quality meet

The much-awaited conference on air quality of cities across the globe, which Bengaluru and London are co-hosting, will be held from July 31 onwards.

“It’s a great honour to host the conference led by C40 Cities leadership. This is an effort to take preventive steps at the right time to improve the air quality in our city and prevent further damage in terms of air quality,” BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad told reporters on Friday.

Lakshman, chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), said, “A majority of the pollution is caused by vehicles. While 42% of increase in the particulate matter than the prescribed limit is because of vehicles, 20% is because of road dust and 14% due to construction work.”

He said metro had improved the city’s air quality by 13%. Prasad said the BBMP was considering having air quality monitoring sensors across the city.

Sanjay Sridhar, regional director for South and West Asia, C40 Cities, said, “One of the reasons for choosing Bangalore for this initiative is that they have a vibrant culture of innovation and they are capable of adapting the latest technology at a faster pace.”

Sridhar also said being one of the first cities in the country to adopt TenderSURE roads, Bengaluru will get a clear picture of the air quality before and after laying the roads. “If more pedestrians use the roads and fewer vehicles after TenderSURE roads, it’ll improve air quality,” he said.

Delhi, Kolkata, Johannesburg, London, Berlin, Dar-es-Salam and Los Angeles are also participating in the event.