The Pandemic’s Impact on Air Quality

As an indoor air quality testing company, AirMD is always monitoring different threats that could negatively impact your home or workplace environment as well as the air in our environment. The Covid-19 pandemic is definitely impacting the wellness of families across the world – in more ways than one!

Testing Environmental Air Quality

Have you seen those pictures of heavily polluted cities before and after the pandemic led to widespread lockdowns around the world?

According to The Mercury News, “In Los Angeles, the air quality, which is usually some of the worst in the nation, has turned into one of the cleanest compared to other major cities, according to IQAir. Even more impressive is the fact that the city has enjoyed its longest stretch of ‘good’ air quality since 1995.”

In India, the streets are largely free of traffic. The big black billowing clouds of smoke that various commercial enterprises spew into the air are closed. New Delhi, the country’s capital, usually has some of the dirtiest air in the world. “Delhi residents are used to looking up to see a hazy, gray sky,” NPR reported in April. “Now they’re posting pictures of clear blue horizons on social media.”

Last year NPR says, the Air Quality Index in New Delhi was 160. In March, after the lockdown had gone into effect, the city’s Air Quality Index was recorded at about a quarter of that – a remarkable reading of just 45.

Testing Indoor Air Quality

Of course, not all the news regarding the results of air quality tests is good. As Scientific American reported in June, “Coronavirus lockdowns may raise exposure to indoor air pollution.”

As Simon Hahessy, the Founder and Scientific Director of our air testing company, explains, “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air quality is a greater health hazard than outdoor air pollution with pollutants being up to two to five times higher indoors.”

And that was before the need to slow the spread of Covid-19 left all of us spending more time – a lot more time – in our homes. (If you want to know how to reduce pollutants in your home, check out our blog on ways to protect your family’s wellness with the way you cleaning and disinfecting your home.

For more information about indoor air quality testing, contact us.