Lockdown effect: Bellandur is now least-polluted area

Recorded as the city’s most polluted area before the lockdown on March 21, Bellandur’s Air Quality Index (AQI) dropped dramatically from over 160 to 45 on May 3, when the restrictions were relaxed.

Tracking this sharp fall, Ambee, a city-based eco-intelligence startup, has observed a similar pattern across Bengaluru. The comparative, hyper-local pollution data analysis also showed how the lockdown relaxation turned the tide again. “During the lockdown, Whitefield had an AQI level of 23, whereas once the lockdown was lifted, it increased to 77,” notes the study.

Residency Road had an AQI of 126 before March 21, but it came down drastically to 71 during the lockdown. It has remained around the same level even post May 3, as road traffic is far from hitting the peaks observed before the lockdown.

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However, the trends indicate that the pollution levels would soon be back to normal. Comparing the city’s average AQI during the past few weeks, Ambee found that the AQI average dropped from 100 before the lockdown to 61.3 during the restrictions, before climbing again. On May 3, it stood at 71, and has only risen since.

Once the lockdown was relaxed on May 3, Jayanagar was one among the top 10 polluted areas with an AQI level of 90+. Before the lockdown, Chandra Layout, Hampinagar and Vijayanagar East were the least polluted with AQI levels less than 60. On Sarjapur Road and Bannerghatta Road, since the road traffic is yet to get anywhere near the normal level, the AQI levels have hovered around the lockdown levels despite the relaxation. On Sarjapur Road, the pre-lockdown AQI dropped from 101 to 81.3 and reduced again to 81.

Bannerghatta Road echoed this trend, with pre-lockdown AQI of 108.2 falling to 75.3 and moving southwards again to 74, post lockdown.

But in Sadashivanagar, this trend saw a reversal with post-lockdown relaxation pushing the AQI levels even higher than before the restrictions. From 69.2 to 41.3 during the lockdown, the AQI rose to 72 after the vehicles came speeding on to the roads.

In transportation hubs Majestic and KR Puram, this was even more pronounced. Majestic was quick to regain and even beat its pre-lockdown AQI level of 73.2, soaring quickly from a low of 41.3 to 74.

Founded in 2017 by Madhusudan Anand, Akshay Joshi and Jaideep Singh Bachher, Ambee was started with an aim to create an environmentally informed society by providing access to data and tools that would enable a better living experience.