With more than a third of children in Bengaluru believed to be already experiencing health problems due to pollution, the city’s roads are turning out to be slow poison for them. The Breathe Blue survey notes that 36 per cent of children have either ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ lung capacity – a statistic largely attributed to rising air pollution. This ranks second among the four cities surveyed.
Barely one in 10 children surveyed had lung capacities unaffected by the air quality of the city.
Landlocked cities
“Coastal cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai have sea-ward and land-ward breeze that blows away pollution. However, Bengaluru and Delhi are landlocked cities, and pollution tends to concentrate here,” said Vaman Acharya, Chairman of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. He believes little can be done unless the rate of new vehicle registration is curbed drastically. The survey – which involved more than 500 children in the city using a Peak Flow Meter at traffic junctions and schools in congested areas – revealed a drastic difference in the health of children who travel by air-conditioned vehicles and those who are exposed to air pollution during their commute. More than 80 per cent of the children diagnosed with poor or bad lung capacity were found to be travelling to school in non-air-conditioned vehicles or walking. Conversely, four in five children tested as having “excellent” lung capacities travel in air-conditioned vehicles.