
The toxic smog that has enveloped Delhi and neighbouring areas has led to a sudden spike in sales of air purifier makers. Companies say they are receiving queries from Mumbai and some eastern parts of the country, along with Delhi-NCR region, where air quality levels have gone down substantially. Online retailers too have seen an increase in the searches for air purifiers on its platform. One of them, Swiggy Instamart, saw 3,233 per cent increase in searches for the term compared to same time in October.
The company said it has stocked up on air purifiers to deal with the huge increase.
Companies such as Philips, Kent RO, Xiaomi, Daikin and Havells expect a further uptick in demand in the coming days, as they anticipate air quality to be impacted by other reasons as well as from construction activities, along with rising health consciousness among consumers.
"In the past 4-5 days, we have witnessed a 15-20 per cent increase in demand, as people anticipated the need for a solution to combat the polluted air," Mahesh Gupta, CMD of Kent RO Systems Ltd told news agency PTI.
This year has seen an early surge in sales due to a sudden surge in air pollution levels, companies said.
"There has been a strong spike in demand for air purifiers. This week itself we witnessed a 10x increase in sales. With other metros like Mumbai seeing a rise in Air Quality Index (AQI) levels, the category itself has grown 40-50 pc through the year, compared to 2022," said a Xiaomi spokesperson.
Delhi's air quality remained 'severe' for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday. The city's air quality index stood at 421, worsening from 395 at 4 pm on Tuesday.
In view of air pollution, the December winter break of all schools has been rescheduled and it will be now from November 9 to November 18, a circular of the Delhi Directorate of Education said on Wednesday.
The national capital has been witnessing stringent curbs under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Under the final stage of the pollution control plan, all kinds of construction work and the entry of polluting trucks into the city have been banned.
Driving old diesel or petrol vehicles and trucks carrying non-essential material in the national capital will attract a fine of Rs 20,000 under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The first images from Sentinel-4 have revealed nitrogen dioxide hotspots over Italy's Po Valley.
Three out of four households in Delhi-NCR are already experiencing the ill-effects of toxic air, with common complaints ranging from sore throat and cough to burning eyes, headaches and disturbed sleep, according to an online survey
The sudden exposure to smoke, toxic gases, and fine particulate matter has left the elderly, children, pregnant women, and those with chronic respiratory or cardiac illnesses struggling to cope.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital improved on Saturday morning but remained under the "poor" category, with Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) already in effect across Delhi-NCR.
With the city's air quality remaining in the "poor" category, Delhiites are rushing to stock up on air purifiers and masks, leading to a 60-70 per cent jump in sales, traders said.
................................ Advertisement ................................
Opinion | Why Indians Have Just Given Up On Air Pollution CrisisTanushree Ganguly
Friday December 20, 2024While some may argue that people in Delhi are now more aware of air pollution than they were a decade back, my rebuttal would be that awareness does not mean that people are concerned.
Opinion | You Must Outrage Over Filthy Air More Than Once A YearJyoti Pande Lavakare
Tuesday December 10, 2024Delhi welcomed us with monsoon rains and mangos. We were home. Fast forward a couple of years, in the winter of 2012, I found myself in denial about something other parents, mostly expats, were calling toxic air.
Opinion | Delhi's Air Pollution Situation Is Like A Bad MarriageNishtha Gautam
Friday November 22, 2024On a good day, such as today, the AQI reading in Delhi is 407. We are jubilant at the sickly sunshine trickling through the slightly dissipated smog. At least its not 1600.
दिवाली... पराली... सियासी जुगाली!Ashwini kumar
Monday November 18, 2024दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण का समाधान तो आज तक मिला नहीं. हर साल चिंतित होकर हम-आप सांसों की तकलीफ के साथ-साथ दिल और ब्लड प्रेशर के मरीज भी क्यों बनें?
घर में कैद बुजुर्ग और हांफते लोग, दिल्ली की सांसों में घुला ये कैसा रोग?Nidhi Kulpati
Friday November 08, 2024हमारी हवा जहरीली हो रही है. गुरुवार की शाम को जब मैं इस मुद्दे पर लिखने बैठी तो AQI लगातार 400 पार जाकर दम घोंट रहा था. बहुत लोगों को यह मामला बोरिंग लगे, लेकिन जब आप अपने साथ काम करने वालों को खांसते-हांफते देखते-सुनते हैं, तो चिंता होने लगती है. सुबह उठते ही दरवाजे खिड़कियां खोलने के लिए डॉक्टर मना कर रहे हैं. बड़े बुजुर्गों के लिए तो मॉर्निंग वॉक बाहर की दुनिया से सीधे संपर्क का ज़रिया है, लेकिन डॉक्टर इसकी भी मनाही कर रहे हैं.

