<p>Bengaluru: Even as concerns around the air quality in Bengaluru grow, the government has claimed that air pollution in the city came down by as much as 4.11% between 2019-20 and 2024-25. According to a written response presented before the Legislative Council, the AQI in Bengaluru has improved marginally between 2019-20 and 2024-25. </p>.<p>The government claimed that the 44-point action plan that has been implemented to tackle air pollution since May 2019 has shown results and hence pollution levels have remained lower.</p>.<p>The action plan included various workable programmes that were to be taken up by various departments. From bringing down vehicular emissions to better waste management to transitioning to electric vehicles, the action plan included a host of measures.</p>.<p>“According to the ‘Source Apportionment and Emission Inventory Study’ carried out by Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), vehicular emissions contribute close to 18.6% of air pollution in the city. Hence, the transport department is conducting regular vehicle checks to determine <br />vehicular emission rates and is promoting use of electric vehicles by lowering taxes on them,” the written response said.</p>.<p>In the last three years, the transport department has checked close to six lakh vehicles to check for emission levels and has recorded close to 70,000 violations.</p>.<p>That apart, the government has also opened up retrofitment centres to promote retrofitting of diesel and petrol vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric propulsion kits. Various other departments have also been taking measures to bring down dust and other factors.</p>.<p>To tackle air pollution, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has improved the green cover by planting thousands of saplings and taken up measures to bring down construction and debris waste. </p>.<p>However, experts said meteorological conditions play a crucial role in determining the air pollution levels and there is a need to analyse the factors resulting in such reduction of air pollution.</p>.<p>“Higher rainy days wash off the pollution, bringing the levels down. In 2024-25, Bengaluru received good rainfall and that would have definitely contributed to the reduction in pollution levels. That apart, various meteorological conditions, wind speeds also matter. Hence, it is important to analyse the contributing factors for reduction before drawing conclusions,” said Prof Gufran Beig from the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Studies. The data also showed that air pollution levels came down significantly during the Covid period. Though the levels have been increasing over the years, Bengaluru had not hit the pre-Covid levels by 2024-25. Experts opined that in 2025-26, air pollution levels would be much higher than the pre-Covid levels.</p>.<p>Highlights - AQI in Bengaluru 2019-20: 732020-21: 602021-22: 662022-23: 662023-24: 682024-25: 70</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Even as concerns around the air quality in Bengaluru grow, the government has claimed that air pollution in the city came down by as much as 4.11% between 2019-20 and 2024-25. According to a written response presented before the Legislative Council, the AQI in Bengaluru has improved marginally between 2019-20 and 2024-25. </p>.<p>The government claimed that the 44-point action plan that has been implemented to tackle air pollution since May 2019 has shown results and hence pollution levels have remained lower.</p>.<p>The action plan included various workable programmes that were to be taken up by various departments. From bringing down vehicular emissions to better waste management to transitioning to electric vehicles, the action plan included a host of measures.</p>.<p>“According to the ‘Source Apportionment and Emission Inventory Study’ carried out by Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), vehicular emissions contribute close to 18.6% of air pollution in the city. Hence, the transport department is conducting regular vehicle checks to determine <br />vehicular emission rates and is promoting use of electric vehicles by lowering taxes on them,” the written response said.</p>.<p>In the last three years, the transport department has checked close to six lakh vehicles to check for emission levels and has recorded close to 70,000 violations.</p>.<p>That apart, the government has also opened up retrofitment centres to promote retrofitting of diesel and petrol vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric propulsion kits. Various other departments have also been taking measures to bring down dust and other factors.</p>.<p>To tackle air pollution, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has improved the green cover by planting thousands of saplings and taken up measures to bring down construction and debris waste. </p>.<p>However, experts said meteorological conditions play a crucial role in determining the air pollution levels and there is a need to analyse the factors resulting in such reduction of air pollution.</p>.<p>“Higher rainy days wash off the pollution, bringing the levels down. In 2024-25, Bengaluru received good rainfall and that would have definitely contributed to the reduction in pollution levels. That apart, various meteorological conditions, wind speeds also matter. Hence, it is important to analyse the contributing factors for reduction before drawing conclusions,” said Prof Gufran Beig from the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Studies. The data also showed that air pollution levels came down significantly during the Covid period. Though the levels have been increasing over the years, Bengaluru had not hit the pre-Covid levels by 2024-25. Experts opined that in 2025-26, air pollution levels would be much higher than the pre-Covid levels.</p>.<p>Highlights - AQI in Bengaluru 2019-20: 732020-21: 602021-22: 662022-23: 662023-24: 682024-25: 70</p>