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> Concentrations over 300 AQI are deemed hazardous by the international AQI rating system, which warns of serious health effects at this level of pollution. On

by ck2 4y ago

> Concentrations over 300 AQI are deemed hazardous by the international AQI rating system, which warns of serious health effects at this level of pollution. On Friday, some parts of New Delhi were even recording more than 600 AQI Whole generation of kids going to have shortened lives and quality of life. BTW this exists also in the USA, legally allowed toxic zones in populated areas https://projects.propublica.org/toxmap/ https://projects.propublica.org/toxmap/

myth_drannon 4y ago
Whole generation of POOR kids. Wealthy can afford air purifiers in schools, homes and cars.
- ch4s3 4y ago
  Air purifiers aren't going to do shit in a car, or in general for AQI of 600.
  - iwillbenice 4y ago
  - ericd 4y ago
    And why wouldn’t they? That’s their entire point.
    - ch4s3 4y ago
      Cars are that well sealed, and aren't designed for that kind of filtering. At air pollution levels that high more filters for use in a home won't move enough air through the filter fast enough to matter and the filters will quickly clog and stop working. You can see examples of this in reports of US and Australian wild fires over the last few years. For things like schools and offices you need a really large and sophisticated HVAC system to deal with that amount of shit in the air. I'd be surprised if any buildings in Dehli have systems like that.
      - mtalantikite 4y ago
        I saw a bunch of personal air filtration systems meant specifically for cars for sale in Delhi markets when I was there. They're devices you run inside the car to filter the air already inside the vehicle. It's probably not great, but better than nothing. And as for the HVAC systems, the luxury hotels definitely have them going. When I was staying there night time AQI would get up to 600, but if you were at a nice hotel it wasn't bad at all. When we stayed at an airbnb without a filtration system it was really difficult to sleep, I'd tie a kufiya around my face.
        ch4s3 4y ago
        > I saw a bunch of personal air filtration systems meant specifically for cars for sale in Delhi markets when I was there That doesn't mean they work. Cars just aren't well sealed in general and you need to move a lot of air through a filter to clear the space faster than pollution is coming in. You might make a small dent but it isn't going to be great. The second you open the door or turn on the A/C you've lost the game. I'm sure luxury hotels have good HVAC, but an AQI of 600 is just not what any traditional HVAC system is designed for. Now there have been advances and a bunch of stuff was specifically developed for the Beijing olympics, but that's a much lower level of pollution. Even there, high end hotels are running two HVAC systems. It's clearly not impossible, but merely being wealthy isn't going to save you from that level of pollution, it's just going to be less bad.
        mtalantikite 4y ago
        Yeah, absolutely. That's why I finished with "it's probably not great, but better than nothing". And wealth definitely isn't going to fully save you from it -- the NY Times did a comparative piece on it a couple years ago: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/asia/india-pollution-inequality.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/asia/in...
Bjorkbat 4y ago
Not just toxic sites. Wildfires can really do a number on your lungs. As bad as Delhi's air pollution is, for a brief moment the air quality was worse in Portland Oregon due to a nearby wildfire. Much as I love living out West, this might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
- midiguy 4y ago
  The PNW gets pristine air though for most of the year, aside from the inevitable few bad late-summer wildfire weeks.

by ck2 4y ago

myth_drannon 4y ago

Whole generation of POOR kids. Wealthy can afford air purifiers in schools, homes and cars.

ch4s3 4y ago
Air purifiers aren't going to do shit in a car, or in general for AQI of 600.
- iwillbenice 4y ago
- ericd 4y ago
  And why wouldn’t they? That’s their entire point.
  - ch4s3 4y ago
    Cars are that well sealed, and aren't designed for that kind of filtering. At air pollution levels that high more filters for use in a home won't move enough air through the filter fast enough to matter and the filters will quickly clog and stop working. You can see examples of this in reports of US and Australian wild fires over the last few years. For things like schools and offices you need a really large and sophisticated HVAC system to deal with that amount of shit in the air. I'd be surprised if any buildings in Dehli have systems like that.
    - mtalantikite 4y ago
      I saw a bunch of personal air filtration systems meant specifically for cars for sale in Delhi markets when I was there. They're devices you run inside the car to filter the air already inside the vehicle. It's probably not great, but better than nothing. And as for the HVAC systems, the luxury hotels definitely have them going. When I was staying there night time AQI would get up to 600, but if you were at a nice hotel it wasn't bad at all. When we stayed at an airbnb without a filtration system it was really difficult to sleep, I'd tie a kufiya around my face.
      - ch4s3 4y ago
        > I saw a bunch of personal air filtration systems meant specifically for cars for sale in Delhi markets when I was there That doesn't mean they work. Cars just aren't well sealed in general and you need to move a lot of air through a filter to clear the space faster than pollution is coming in. You might make a small dent but it isn't going to be great. The second you open the door or turn on the A/C you've lost the game. I'm sure luxury hotels have good HVAC, but an AQI of 600 is just not what any traditional HVAC system is designed for. Now there have been advances and a bunch of stuff was specifically developed for the Beijing olympics, but that's a much lower level of pollution. Even there, high end hotels are running two HVAC systems. It's clearly not impossible, but merely being wealthy isn't going to save you from that level of pollution, it's just going to be less bad.
        mtalantikite 4y ago
        Yeah, absolutely. That's why I finished with "it's probably not great, but better than nothing". And wealth definitely isn't going to fully save you from it -- the NY Times did a comparative piece on it a couple years ago: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/asia/india-pollution-inequality.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/world/asia/in...

Bjorkbat 4y ago

Not just toxic sites. Wildfires can really do a number on your lungs. As bad as Delhi's air pollution is, for a brief moment the air quality was worse in Portland Oregon due to a nearby wildfire. Much as I love living out West, this might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

midiguy 4y ago
The PNW gets pristine air though for most of the year, aside from the inevitable few bad late-summer wildfire weeks.