“There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs, there’d be no place to put it all.” This sad statement pretty much sums up the scenario of the present day. Ever since the rise of the First Industrial Revolution, the problem of environmental pollution has existed and with each passing year has only gotten worse, to the extent that unless serious measures are taken both on the individual and the global level, the earth we get to call our home may not have any pollution-free areas left at all.
Air Pollution: An On-going Problem
According to the United Nations, it is predicted that by the year 2050, around 68% of the world’s population will be living in urban regions. As of today, the numbers stand at 55% – people are continually shifting, creating more congested areas than ever before. Add to it another 2.5 billion and you can only imagine the mayhem that is in the reserve.
Well, urban areas are infamous for alarming rates of pollution. The World Health Organisation reveals that nine out of ten people breathe in dangerous levels of polluted air on a constant basis. And to prove the authenticity of this claim, an estimated seven million people are killed every year due to the deadly beast of air pollution. The two major sources of air pollution in the urban areas have been found to be transportation technologies such as automobiles and power production technologies such as coal-burning plants.
Most of us are thoroughly aware of the physiological damage air pollution can have – heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, birth defects to name only a few. But a study conducted by Professor Sefi Roth back in the year 2011 and then again in 2018, had some more surprising insights in store. In that study, students of similar education levels answering examinations were tested through the course of several days. Even the pollution levels on each day of the exam were measured. Shockingly, the results revealed that the most polluted days had the worst test scores whereas the scores dramatically increased on days when the air quality was the cleanest.
Moreover, in 2018, his team analysed the crime data from more than 600 of London’s electoral wards and found that with the rising levels of air pollution, crime rates also increased significantly. And what’s even more shocking is that even moderate levels of air pollution were capable of making a huge difference.
Jack Frost Only Aggravates the Problem
That being said, contrary to what people generally believe, the pollution onslaught worsens during the winter season. “Winter is coming and so is the pollution”, “Delhi struggles to breathe due to pollution onslaught”, “Winter has become synonymous with air pollution” are not merely newspaper headlines screaming for attention. The problem of smog becomes almost intolerable in winters owing to the dreaded ‘temperature inversion’ – a phenomenon where a layer of warm air is found at some height above the ground with colder, denser air both above and below this warm layer. As a result, the volume of air left open for pollutants to mix in becomes considerably smaller, thereby increasing pollutant concentration in that area significantly – high risk to even very high risk at times. How this happens is that the warm air parcels that rise above the ground will inevitably stop once they reach the inversion point and since an inversion can be formed a km above the ground or even lower, the concentration of deadly pollutants will have a smaller volume of air to mix with.
The cities in India where pollution has reached unbearable levels are – Delhi, Kanpur, Faridabad, Varanasi, Patna, Gaya, Lucknow, Muzaffarpur, Agra, even Srinagar with some cities scoring a whopping 174 on the PM 2.5 scale (which is 17 times higher than the acceptable limit declared by WHO). PM 2.5 refers to Particulate Matter 2.5 – atmospheric pollutants that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres (about 3% of the diameter of a human hair).
Since these particles are too small to be detected by the human eye and too fine, they can easily remain longer in the air than heavier particles and are capable of bypassing the nose and throat and penetrating deep into the lungs, sometimes even entering the circulatory system.
The acceptable PM 2.5 rating is 12 and below with 12.1 to 35.4 being moderately risky, 35.5 to 55.4 being unhealthy to sensitive people, 55.5 to 150.4 being unhealthy to healthy individuals, 150.4 to 250.4 being extremely unhealthy and a rating of 250.5 and above being downright hazardous.
The rising air pollution of India is gradually progressing towards hazardous. This air pollution naturally affects our indoors and pollutes the interiors of our private spaces.
Glass Solutions: The Answer to the Pollution Problem
Though it is true that the problem of outdoor air pollution is not entirely within our control, each of us can take certain necessary measures to ensure that the interiors of our personal spaces are well-protected against the deadly pollutants.
And to that end, modern-day innovations in glass solutions are here to help you. Anti-pollution window solutions come with double-glazed glass units that allow natural light to pass through but keep the unwanted heat of the sun and unneeded noise at bay. Moreover, these windows are completely sealed with multi-point locking systems to ensure that even PM 2.5 contaminants do not invade your space. Finally, to fill in any gaps that might be left between the glass panes and the window frames, a special silicone sealant is used. The resulting fenestration solution is equipped to help you and your family fight the rising levels of air pollution.
Want to make your home pollution-proof? Then, contact AIS Glass without delay! As India’s leading glass manufacturer, our fenestration solutions are thoroughly designed to keep pollution at an arm’s length. The multi-point locking systems and specialised high-quality silicone sealant that we use on our windows will keep you safe from the most deadly of air contaminants and our double-glazed glass will maintain ideal interior temperatures. So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself and your loved ones protected against pollution. Get in touch today.