New Delhi, Dec 8, 2008 : Delhi’s citizens want clean air.But do they actually need it? Two-year-old research by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India), has shown that India’s capital residents may not be in need of air pollution information or defensive technologies. Researchers found that even though they were offered a free indoor air quality monitor to track their home’s pollution levels, very few people took up the offer.
The indoor PM2.5 levels of low-income and high income households in Delhi were extremely high during winter, with mean concentrations of 23 to 29 times the WHO safe limit (10 Ig/m).
Research showed that households with high incomes were 13 times more likely than those with low incomes to have air purifiers.
However, indoor air pollution levels in these homes was only 10% lower than those who lived in disadvantaged areas.
Kenneth Lee, who was the study’s lead author, stated that Delhi is the bottom line.”No one, rich or poor, gets clean air.”
It’s a vicious circle.If you don’t know the pollution levels in your home, you don’t worry about it and are less likely to take corrective action.Clean air demand will only rise if people are more aware.
The experiment showed that indoor PM2.5 concentrations declined by 8.6% in homes with real-time indoor pollution data.There were also modest changes in ventilation habits and defensive practices.
Researchers point out that indoor PM2.5 levels were significantly higher than the value reported by the nearest government monitor in a study of thousands of Delhi households between 2018-2020.
The study also found that indoor PM2.5 levels tends to rise in the mornings and the evenings when people are most likely to be cooking.
Lee says, “It is critical to address the information gap related to indoor air polluting urgently.” We can expect more positive outcomes if we combine high-frequency, accurate PM2.5 information via either government monitors or indoor air quality monitors.
vg/pgh
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