Bengaluru: Already battling dust and vehicular emissions, the city’s air quality has taken a further beating, slipping from 28th to 36th spot in the recently released Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2025. The rankings, published by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), evaluate the performance of cities in implementing the Centre’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).Unlike many other large cities that showed improvement under the category of urban centres with population above 10 lakh, Bengaluru fared poorly in controlling PM10 and PM2.5 pollutants. NCAP, launched in 2019, aims to cut particulate matter concentrations by 20-30% by 2026 compared to the 2017-18 baseline levels. Officials from MoEFCC and the Central Pollution Control Board attribute Bengaluru’s poor performance primarily to vehicular emissions and road dust. With more than 1.5 crore registered vehicles and thousands more entering from neighbouring districts each day, the city’s congestion continues to fuel rising levels of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.A progress report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in early 2025 estimated that vehicles account for 40% of emissions, followed by road and crustal dust at 25%, highlighting an urgent need for stronger vehicle management and better road infrastructure. In 2024, Bengaluru scored 170.6 points to secure the 28th rank. This year, the score dropped sharply to 145.1, reflecting the deteriorating air quality despite visible strides such as the growth of electric vehicle adoption and a govt crackdown on solid waste and biomass burning. According to experts, the real setback is the weak inter-departmental coordination — particularly between the civic authorities of Bengaluru and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board — which hampered effective utilisation of NCAP funds.Adding to the concern, a study by the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, released at the National Clean Air Summit 2025 in Bengaluru, revealed that Karnataka is India’s largest contributor to PM2.5 vehicular emissions. The state emits 13.6 gigagrams annually, ahead of Uttar Pradesh (13.4 Gg) and Tamil Nadu (13 Gg), with heavy-duty trucks and goods carriers being the largest polluters.
