Jaipur's giant air filters tackling India's pollution: Are they just a ‘PR gimmick’?
Four 8-metre-tall air-purifying units have been installed at busy intersections around Jaipur. They are the first of their kind in India, tackling the worsening air quality in the city, but people online aren’t happy.
Memes online have compared the purifier towers to “water filters in the ocean” or “an AC outside your house in 45-degree heat”. Officials say each box can cleanse a small zone roughly 20 metres in radius, sucking in polluted air and filtering out the dangerous fine particles, like PM2.5.
PM2.5 is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, particularly dangerous as it can penetrate deep into a person’s lungs and enter their bloodstreams, bringing severe health risks.
The critics say four towers scattered across the city will barely touch the scale of the problem, and point out that pollution in the air doesn’t stay neatly around these intersections, it spreads city-wide.
Some ask: “Why not just plant more trees?” They’re low maintenance, don’t need electricity and can soak up CO2. However, whilst small particles can get trapped by their leaves, trees are far less effective at removing PM2.5 and PM10 particles from the air than these air purifiers.
Nonetheless, Jaipur's air pollution is continuing to worsen. This November, the Air Quality Index there was above 200, deemed a "severe" health risk, for 5 consecutive days. Across India, researchers say 1.7 million people die each year from diseases related to high PM2.5 levels. Winter brings the worst conditions, as less wind and cooler temperatures keep pollutants close to the ground.
Whilst new technologies may help at the margins, experts say India will ultimately need to address the root causes of its air pollution- like vehicle emissions, stubble burning, industrial output and thermal power plants.
These filters are one of several measures introduced by the Indian government to combat worsening air quality, says Devendra Goyal from NGO Enviro Concept, "the government is going to minimise the [use of] fossil fuels like coal and diesel, and start the work on solar green energy."
Still, analysts remain doubtful that India can cut pollution quickly enough to avoid escalating public frustration.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
