A new study has found that indoor air in the Indian capital, Delhi, is alarmingly high in pollution. Studies have shown that the amount of PM2.5, a small particle harmful to the lungs in the air, is ‘substantially higher’ indoors than outdoors. News BBC Online.
The study was conducted by the Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) of the University of Chicago in the United States between 2016-20. The survey was conducted on thousands of families in Delhi considering their socio-economic status. It shows that such levels of air pollution have been observed in all families, rich and poor alike.
The research report further said that despite the indoor conditions, most families in Delhi have no interest in preventing air pollution.
Delhi almost always tops the list of the most polluted cities in the world in the climate index.
Researchers say that high-income households have 13 times more air purifiers than low-income households. However, the level of indoor air pollution in the houses of those rich families is only 10 percent less than that of the families of the relatively backward population.
Kenneth Lee is the lead author of the research article. “No one, rich or poor, can breathe fresh air,” he said.
According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), airborne diseases cause an estimated 6 million premature deaths worldwide each year.
Experts say that most of the time we are victims of indoor air pollution. And according to the Energy Policy Institute, indoor air pollution levels are two to five times higher than outside.
That is a bigger concern for India. Because 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Air pollution kills more than one million people a year in India.
