US Embassy bought air purifiers ahead of Obama visit

New Delhi, 09/11/2012: The smog that had hovered over the national capital for several days cleared this morning, Following concerns expressed by the Supreme Court over smog-ridden Delhi, the Delhi government Wednesday blamed pollution emanating from vehicles in neighbouring states for the smog in the city. Photo: V.V.Krishnan.

Delhi’s poor air quality forced the US Embassy in the city to purchase air purifiers ahead of the US President Barack Obama’s visit earlier this week. The air purifiers were installed in the Embassy to allow the staff to breathe easy.

The US Embassy routinely monitors pollution levels in Delhi and taking note of the high pollutions levels in the city and the risk that it poses to health, the Embassy purchased 1,800 air purifiers from Swedish company, Blueair.

According to a statement issued by the company, the Embassy’s monitoring had revealed pollution levels at a ‘very unhealthy’ level measuring 222 on the U.S. Embassy air quality index. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says such high levels can cause significant aggravation of heart or lung disease and increase in respiratory effects in general population.