Analyzing air quality data from the Berkeley Earth Project, Smart Air found that Bangalore’s air quality worsened by 7% in 2018 compared to 2017. This puts Bangalore at about 4 times the World Health Organization’s annual limit.
Bangalore Air Pollution by Month
Breaking down the data by month reveals exactly when air pollution was worse. The data shows that 2018 air quality was worse across the whole year, except briefly in the summer.
How Does Bangalore Air Pollution Compare to Delhi?
Bangalore’s air pollution averages about 40% that of pollution leader Delhi, making it one of the least polluted major cities in India. Despite being better than Delhi and Mumbai, Bangalore’s PM2.5 exceeds the World Health Organization annual limit every month of the year — even in the cleanest month.
The analysis is based only on PM2.5 pollution, which refers to particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. These particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. Studies have shown that PM2.5 raises blood pressure, inflammation, and rates of heart attacks and strokes.
Read more: See how air quality fared in 2018 for Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
Protect Yourself
Despite the harms of PM2.5, studies have found that wearing masks prevents physiological harm to the body, and placebo-controlled studies of air purifiers have found that removing particulate in the home has positive effects on blood pressure, inflammation, and immune response.
Smart Air provides empirically backed, no-nonsense purifiers and masks to help air-breathers protect themselves and their family. Smart Air is a certified B Corp founded to publicize the simple science behind air purifiers and masks, thereby lowering the cost of breathing clean air.
Breathe safe!
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