Be it any newspaper, or any media channel, all we get to see is the air quality index making major headlines. However, we don't see that the air pollution in our home or office making any kind of breaking news.
It is of utmost importance to understand the relation between outdoor and indoor air quality, often called as (IAQ). Also,it is very important to change habits and home in order to minimize outdoor air pollution's effect on indoor air.
Let us try and understand that how outdoor air pollutants get indoors? As per the study indoor pollution can be more deadly as it affects in places where we spend 80% or more of our time every single day.
It has been observed that at home, at work and even at school, indoor air pollution levels are typically 2-5 times higher than outdoor pollution levels. It very quickly becomes 100 times worse than outdoor air pollution.
We all are aware that outdoor air pollution is generally measured in 3 ways: PM 10(is made up of dust, pollen and mould wherein the particulate matter is smaller than 10 microns). PM 2.5( the particulate matter is smaller than 2.5 microns, usually produced by vehicle exhaust, factory emissions, and smoke from burning wood or other biomass fuels), Tropospheric ozone(ground-level ozone which results from reacting heat with low pollutants in the atmosphere).
Gases from vehicles and industrial processes, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the most common sources of ozone. Concentrations of these outdoor pollutants rise and fall constantly because of changes in the weather, climate, and human activity.
For example, outdoor pollutants build up in the lower atmosphere due to temperature inversions, which happen during periods of cold weather when warm air rises into the upper atmosphere and traps cold air beneath it, causing pollutants to build up at low altitudes.In the morning hours, during rush hour traffic, concentration tends to rise. It eventually subsides once traffic diminishes and wind and heat clears the air traffic of excess pollutants.
However, indoor pollutants aren’t always exposed to any similar processes to minimize their concentrations. Ventilation often brings in fresh outdoor air to dilute indoor pollutants.
The most common ways outdoor air pollution affects IAQ are through open windows and doors as well as cracks in walls, doors and window sealants.
When outdoor pollutant levels are high, ventilating the indoors with outdoor air can make pollution worse.
It’s typically a good idea to regularly let in lots of outdoor air to decrease build-ups of indoor pollutants and toxic gases, such as ultra-fine particles and carbon dioxide (CO2). But exposure to outdoor PM10 and PM2.5 increases significantly when polluted outdoor air infiltrates our home or office in such large amounts.
It has been studied that older, less energy-efficient homes are especially susceptible to leaks of outdoor pollutants indoors because they’re less airtight than newer, energy-efficient homes specifically designed to limit the rate of exchange between indoor and outdoor air.
We spend 80% or more of our time indoors during an average day. We need to make a few small changes to our habits and our indoor environment so that we can breathe the purest possible indoor air, keeping our head clear and our lungs clean.
Image Credit: Medium
Please Note: Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com