- When we are in Delhi, we are smoking 12-13 cigarettes every day even if we don’t want to.
- If you are in Delhi then you are living in the most polluted capital of the world.
- If we are in Delhi, there is not even a single day when we have clean air.
These three figures are enough to show how poisonous Delhi’s air is. The report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that in 323 days between January 1 and November 18 this year, there was not even a single day when Delhi’s air was clean. Clean air is considered when the level of Air Quality Index i.e. AQI is between 0 to 50. But this did not happen this year, let alone last year.
The report of CPCB itself says that in the 10 years between 2016 and 2025, the people of Delhi have got clean air only for 14 days. That means, in so many years, the AQI level in Delhi has been from 0 to 50 only for 14 days.
Not only this, out of 323 days this year, there have been only 200 days when AQI has been below 200. The AQI level remained above 200 for the remaining 123 days. This means that it has been more than 4 months since the people of Delhi have been breathing poisonous air.
Now what do people do to avoid this poisonous air? Those who can afford, buy air purifiers. Air purifier was considered a ‘luxury’ but in today’s time it has become a ‘necessity’. How big is the air purifier market? We will understand this but before that let us know how poisonous the air of Delhi really is?
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Delhi has become a gas chamber!
Every year, even before the onset of winter, Delhi’s air becomes poisonous. Delhi is compared to a ‘gas chamber’. The World Air Quality report for 2024 shows that Delhi is the most polluted capital in the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that if the amount of PM2.5 in the air is up to 5 micrograms per cubic meter then you are breathing clean air. But in Delhi it is many times more. According to CPCB, the average level of PM2.5 in Delhi was 244 micrograms per cubic metre. That is, the level of PM2.5 in Delhi is 50 times more than the WHO scale. PM2.5 is considered the most dangerous, because it is so fine that it enters the body through breathing and makes one sick.
The biggest role in making Delhi’s air poisonous is the smoke emitted from vehicles. Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a Delhi-based think tank, published a study in 2019. In this, the causes of pollution in Delhi were estimated. For this, many studies conducted between 2010 and 2018 were analyzed.
It was told that the biggest reason for the increase in the amount of PM2.5 in Delhi is the smoke coming out of vehicles. Its share ranged from 17.9% to 39.2%. Additionally, smoke from industries contributed 2.3% to 28.9%. Power plants accounted for 3.1% to 11%, road dust accounted for 18.1% to 37.8% and construction accounted for 2.2% to 8.4%.
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The more poisonous the air, the higher the sales of air purifiers.
Delhi’s air has become so poisonous that even without wanting to, you are smoking 12.4 cigarettes every day. That is, the damage to the lungs caused by smoking 12 or 13 cigarettes a day is equal to that caused just by breathing the air of Delhi.
When we breathe polluted air, it has a direct effect on the lungs. If you are an asthma patient or have any heart disease, it can also be fatal. Not only this, air pollution can even cause lung cancer. A study in the science journal Lancet suggests that air pollution is increasing the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers. Only last year, a Lancet study came out in which it was told that now lung cancer is increasing rapidly even among non-smokers and a major reason for this is air pollution.
Now there are only two ways to escape from this poisonous air. First, either wear an N95 mask. Or use an air purifier to clean the air. Now air purifiers are being used extensively in Delhi. However, these air purifiers are beyond the reach of the common man. Some are priced at Rs 5-10 thousand and some even cost lakhs. Well, for the sake of clean air, people have now started spending on air purifiers.
KN Srikanth, Director of Home, Kitchen and Outdoors at Amazon India, told Forbes that in recent times, there has been a 20-fold jump in the sales of air purifiers in Delhi-NCR. He had told that 75% jump was in air purifiers priced below Rs 10,000. There has been a 70% jump in the sales of air purifiers priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000. At the same time, there has been a jump of 150% in the sales of air purifiers costing more than Rs 20 thousand.
Sales of air purifiers have increased not only on Amazon but also on Flipkart. According to Forbes, sales of air purifiers have increased 8 times in the first week of November as compared to October.
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How big is the air purifier market in India?
As pollution is increasing, the sales of air purifiers are also continuously increasing. Many reports say that the air purifier market in India is expected to grow in double digits every year.
A report estimates that the air purifier market is expected to grow to $1.8 billion by 2033. During this period, this market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14.6% every year.
At the same time, the report of Expert Market Research says that in 2025, the air purifier market in India will be around Rs 905 crore. This market is expected to grow to Rs 3,520 crore by 2034. Accordingly, the market is expected to grow at the rate of 16.3% every year. It is estimated that 5 lakh air purifiers will be sold in India every year.
However, experts say that the air purifier market in India is still very small. Blue Star Managing Director B. Thiagarajan told Forbes that ‘every year around Diwali, the air purifier market goes up for about one and a half to two months. After this it comes back to where it was. He said that the market for air purifiers in India is small and that too is mostly in Delhi and Mumbai only. He said that even 1% of the houses in Delhi do not have air purifiers.
Not only this, there is also a big concern that even though the air purifier market is growing in India, only foreign companies are benefiting from it. Of the 100 most polluted cities in the world, 83 are in India. Despite this, the air purifier market is dominated by foreign companies like Dyson, Xiaomi, Philips, Honeywell and Panasonic.
Read this also–Pollution is more dangerous than diabetes, more than 17000 deaths in Delhi
Are air purifiers effective?
As pollution increases, people start buying air purifiers. But are they really helpful in cleaning the air? Most studies express concern on this.
Recently a study was published in Annals of Internal Medicine. In this, more than 700 studies conducted on air cleaning technology between 1929 and 2024 were analyzed. Dr. Lisa Berro, co-author of this study, said, ‘We were surprised to learn that most of the research has been done in the lab, and not in the world where people live or work.’
Dr. Amiran Baduashvili, lead author of this study, had said, ‘Most technologies make big claims only on paper, but we do not know how effective they are in the real world.’
A study by Colorado University suggests that UV-based air purifiers release ozone, which harms the lungs. University researcher Louis Leslie says, ‘Some air cleaning devices release ozone and other dangerous chemicals, which harm our lungs. Especially children and those who already have any respiratory disease.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi had said last year, ‘People see AQI on mobile and out of fear they start buying air purifiers. Air purifier manufacturing companies make false claims. There is just one fan in it, yet she keeps making claims.
Dr., head of the pulmonology department of Delhi AIIMS. Anant Mohan tells BBC, ‘There is very little scientific information about air purifiers. Still, for the elderly, children and sick people, indoor air can be better than outside air. How effective a purifier is depends on how big it is, what its capacity is and how big the room is.
Even though the sales of air purifiers are increasing and no matter how clean the air is, it may still take a long time for it to become an essential item in the home. That is because the purifier can improve the air of home or office, but after going out, you still get polluted air. Air purifier can definitely be a medium for clean air but it cannot be the solution.
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