Delhi Resident Builds Air Purifier For Only Rs 2,000 That Reduces AQI To 50

Air quality across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been steadily deteriorating with the onset of the winter season. With the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the 'severe' category, residents in the national capital have been forced to invest in air purifiers to breathe clean air in the comforts of their homes, at least. While the high-end air purifiers can be expensive, a Redditor has come out with a DIY solution to build an affordable alternative at home within a Rs 2,000 budget.

In the now-viral post titled, 'I Built my Personal Air Purifier for 2000 INR', the user shared how they built the device using only a handful of items that can be easily sourced.

"So I built this air purifier using exhaust fan and hepa filter, and it is working great, even better than the Philips one I have," the user wrote in the r/delhi subreddit.

"Items used: 150mm exhaust fan (Rs 750), HEPA filter from Amazon (Rs 1,000), switch and regulator + wire (Rs 65), cardboard and glue gun (Rs 150)."

As for the performance, the user revealed in the tutorial that the new machine was able to bring down the AQI to 50 from 400 in less than 15 minutes at the lowest speed in a room measuring 12 feet by 12 feet.

As the post gained significant traction, social media users lauded the individual for building the device from scratch and asked for detailed tutorials.

"Share filter and fan link or details. I assume I'll also get the same results, as I don't have any solution to see AQI difference," said one user, while another added: "Bro, organise a workshop on the weekend. I'll bring all the items and you help me build it."

A third commented: "This is a really great DIY. Kudos to you. We really need people like you to solve such problems."

Check The Viral Post Here:

I Built my Personal Air Purifier for 2000 INR
byu/shukrant25 indelhi

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Delhi's Pollution Crisis

According to CREA's (Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air) latest PM2.5 assessment for October 2025, Delhi ranked sixth among India's most polluted cities, recording an average PM2.5 concentration of 107 micrograms per cubic meter -three times higher than its September average.

The latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data revealed that air pollution was responsible for nearly 15 per cent of all deaths in Delhi in 2023, making it the city's single largest health risk.

The GBD analysis shows that deaths related to air pollution in Delhi rose from 15,786 in 2018 to 17,188 in 2023, even as authorities introduced several air quality management plans. Deaths linked to high blood pressure and diabetes also increased during the same period, but remained lower than those caused by air pollution.