Indoor air pollution claims more lives than outdoor pollution- warn experts

Accounting for about 2 million premature deaths every year in the country, latest figures indicate that more people are dying due to poor indoor air quality as compared to outdoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution can be up to 10 times worse than outdoor air pollution. However, despite such high risk, experts point out that even people with respiratory conditions are oblivious to the risks of indoor air pollution.

“In urban settings, it is poor ventilation, dust, mites, pollens and other trapped irritants that make the air quality extremely unhealthy for breathing. While children under the age of five are prone to developing respiratory conditions if exposed to indoor air pollution, people with existing condition report exacerbation, leading to increased mortality. One of the recent studies reports that poor indoor air quality is the second largest killer in India, claiming 1.3 million lives every year,” says Dr V V Ramana Prasad ,Sr Consultant Pulmonologist, KIMS Hyderabad.

Studies indicate that concentration of pollutants in the indoor environment is much higher than that of the urban outdoor ambient environment with average traffic. giving the fact that people spend more than 90 per cent of their time in indoor environments either inside the office, school, college, commercial, industrial buildings or inside residential houses, makes them highly vulnerable to the hazards of poor indoor air quality.

“The good air quality inside can be maintained to certain extent by proper ventilation, planting indoor plants and other dust control methods, but still the minute dust particles, bacteria, virus, pollens and other air borne pollutants stay in our house causing various respiratory illness like asthma and allergies. Air purifier may help in improving indoor air quality by capturing and removing minutest pollutants from the air. says Dr VV Ramana Prasad .

Around the globe, air cleaners and filters are suggested as one of the important strategies to improve indoor air quality. In fact, air purifiers not only help people with respiratory conditions but with heart conditions as well. A 2015 study by American College of Cardiology stated clear cardiopulmonary benefits of indoor air purification among young, healthy adults with severe exposure to ambient particulate air pollution.

With increasing recognition of air purifiers as an important tool to improve indoor air quality and its health benefits, the technology is improving rapidly to match with the patient requirements..

“Indoor air pollution is one of the major cause for the increased numbers of respiratory illness and heart diseases. Looking at steep rise in prevalence of respiratory and heart problems, air purifier can be one of the most effective way to tackle the problem. Hence while choosing an air purifier it is important to identify an air purifier which captures minutest of air pollutants.” says, Arvind Chabra, India Head, Blueair India.