Festive pollution down from last year in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The festive cheer of Deepavali in Bengaluru came with a haze of pollution, as the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB) data revealed an uptick in the Air Quality Index (AQI) during the three days of celebrations. Despite the heightened air pollution relative to the days preceding the festival, the situation showed improvement from the previous year’s festive period.

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) issued an average AQI of three days (November 12, 13 and 14) for 39 stations, including 11 in Bengaluru, comparing the quality of the air during the three days of the festival last year.

According to the standards established by the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI below 50 is considered ‘good,’ 50-100 is ‘satisfactory,’ 101-200 is ‘moderate,’ and 201-300 is ‘poor,’ with two additional categories indicating even worse air conditions. In Bengaluru, three stations recorded ‘poor’ air quality, with Jayanagar at the top of the list with an AQI of 234, followed by Silk Board at 224 and Kavika at 212.

As many as 19 stations, including in Mangaluru, Bidar, Tumakuru, Karwar, Davangere, Raichur, Ramanagar, Hubballi, Haveri, Chikkaballapur, Yadgir, Kolar and seven stations in Bengaluru recorded moderate air quality. Data showed that pollution levels doubled in several districts, including Ramanagar, Hubballi and Dharwad,  compared to last year’s numbers with many crossing over from ‘Satisfactory’ to ‘Moderate’ standards.

Among the 17 stations which put the AQI number at ‘Satisfactory’ levels were Mysuru, Madikeri, Hassan, Kalaburagi, Chamarajanagar, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Chikkamagaluru and others. Saneguruvanahalli in Bengaluru was the only station which fell into this category with an AQI of 94.

A KSPCB official said more awareness about crackers was needed to further cut pollution.

“The introduction of green crackers has marginally reduced pollution compared to the Deepavali days in 2022. Monitoring in more areas is required to help throw light on the real pollution levels in a city like Bengaluru,” he said