Own a fancy car? bet your cabin air isn’t fancy too?

Air pollution and a hundred diseases are interlinked, and foul air is causing trouble to the environment all around the world. The air quality is haunting and sadly all this filth is living inside your car and you’re unaware.

Social ITH
Nov 5 · 4 min read
A fiat car’s cabin view
A fiat car’s cabin view
Unsplash.com

Our cars are one of the many reasons for air pollution. If you are concerned about the environment, then using methods that can make your car more eco-friendly should be your way of driving it. Now with the technological advancement, car companies are trying to reduce the carbon footprint, but the car cabin air pollution is something that hasn’t yet been resolved. With over 1 billion automobiles in the whole world, India is the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world 2018’ alone and houses 22.5 million cars. China and the USA, on the other hand, amount to 80 million and 250 million cars respectively, according to experts. It is also projected that the world will have well over 2.5 billion automobiles by 2050.

Where do you think all this combustion of fuel and heat is going? All that filth is accumulating inside your cars and ending up in your respiratory system.

Deaths and illnesses related to Air pollution are linked to prolonged exposure to minuscule particulate matter (PM particles) which are smaller than 10 to 2.5 microns in diameter. These are well known as PM10 and PM 2.5 and are responsible for sneakily getting past the body’s defence and make their home in the respiratory tracts. A car’s emission system discharges an amalgamation of heavy metals, carbon compounds, sulphurs, toxic elements such as carcinogens and benzene derivatives. These emissions create an ecosystem full of such particles and it threatens humans, animals and nature alike. Sadly, some of that filth lives inside your car as well.

Air pollution is a silent killer and you didn’t know.

Level of particulate matter pollution in Indian cities in 2018
Level of particulate matter pollution in Indian cities in 2018
Source: Statista (2018)
Delhi’s Air quality after Diwali worsens enough to cause hazardous diseases.
Delhi’s Air quality after Diwali worsens enough to cause hazardous diseases.

The aforelisted charts depict the level of air pollution in various Indian cities in 2018 and air pollution level in Delhi around Diwali. Delhi’s air last month worsened to dangerous levels and doctors suggest that PM concentration above 400 can directly affect grown-ups and cause ailments. Cars have added to this dire state of pollution immensely and we can do nothing about it.

Road transport is estimated for up to 30% of particulate emissions in Europe and up to 50% in OECD countries such as Belgium, Chile, Poland, Slovakia, etc according to the World Health Organization. 333 million tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere annually according to the Environmental Defense Fund and it somehow finds a way inside cars as well. Pollution is attributed to the major cause of chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, adverse birth outcomes and higher death rates and India is one of the most polluted countries in the world. Air pollution has intensely affected the life expectancy of people all around the world with the death toll in millions. Life expectancy in India has been cut short by as much as 5.3 years according to the Washington Post published in November 2018. As many as 1.2 million people died from exposure to air pollution in India in 2017 and the situation keeps getting ever dire.

What are we doing to curb it?

The pollution that exists outside finds a way to infiltrate vehicles and creates an unhealthy environment inside. There is no solution to neutralize the cabin air pollution except mounting an air purifier. The market is inundated with many air purifiers that claim to kill 99.9% of pollution. But are they really neutralizing the chemical cocktail of pollution or just masking foul smells and particulate matter? A majority of Car air purifiers are unable to filter particles smaller than dust such as the VCOs (Volatile Organic Compounds) odours, allergens and gasses. It proves to be harmful as the purifiers aren’t yet competitive enough to provide you with cleaner air that is free of such smaller particles.

ITH Technologies’ vision
ITH Technologies’ vision

Keeping the hazards in mind, ITH is incubating and accelerating the development of a stellar air purifier with advanced technological components. The air purifier will be available in the market in the near future. It is designed using great care, employing the latest industry standards, has premium look and features and works with great efficacy in delivering pure and fresh air. It will be a powerful tool that will neutralize PM10 and PM2.5 particles that linger around passengers in their vehicles. The advanced true HEPA filtration technology will be coupled with a 5 stage purification process for maximum efficiency while reducing the pollution footprint from car cabins significantly.

ITH Technologies

Social ITH

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ITH Technologies

A leading infrastructure development and consulting firm that offers a complete suite of End-To-End solution to foster global innovation. Evolving businesses through blockchain development and robotics infused Brain-computer interfaces. Find out more at www.ith.tech

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