The day after diwali, Delhi's air quality fell to the "very poor" category, with 27 monitoring stations reporting dangerously high pollution levels, and a heavy blanket of haze enveloped the city. In terms of the average concentration of PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 microns or smaller in diameter) in the air, india ranked fifth out of 98 nations in the 2019 World air Quality Report, outperforming only Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Afghanistan.
Sales of face masks and air purifiers are increasing once again as a result of the national capital's rapidly declining air quality. Indeed, the indian air purifier market is anticipated to rise at a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.5% between 2023 and 2030, according to market research firm Renub Research.
Some stores are observing a shift in their customer base as the capital enters a new pollution season. The other day, an autorickshaw driver and his spouse arrived to purchase a Rs 5,000 air purifier. According to them, avoiding lung cancer was a better investment than treating it because a sibling was diagnosed with it last year, said Vijay Malhotra, proprietor of Vijay Electricals in north Delhi, which offers air purifiers for between Rs 4,000 and Rs 15,000 in price.
Malhotra said, "This year, I have also had a lot of new customers who had been putting off purchasing an air purifier for years."
Air purifier sales increased after diwali last year as well. In comparison to the same month last year, swiggy Instamart recorded a 3,233 percent rise in searches for air purifiers in november 2023.
In fact, combating pollution is becoming a costly endeavor. According to a recent report by the Confederation of indian Industry (CII) and the strategic advisory firm Dalberg Advisors, which collaborated with the Clean air Fund, a charitable organization that fights global air pollution, air pollution costs indian companies $95 billion (Rs 7.99 lakh crore) annually.
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