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US woman shares how she survives Delhi pollution: 'Indoor air is most important'
An American woman living in Delhi shared how running multiple air purifiers helps her family maintain safe indoor air during city's high-pollution months.
An American woman who has been living in India for the past four years has shared how she manages air quality in Delhi during the city’s high-pollution months.
Taking to Instagram, Kristen Fischer shared a video addressing a question she says she is asked frequently. “So people ask me how I’m able to manage the air quality here in Delhi,” she said, before showing an air quality monitor displaying an AQI reading of 210 outdoors. She then carried the device inside her home, where the reading dropped sharply to 48 within a few seconds.
Explaining the difference, she said, “This is because we have air purifiers in our house.” She added that her home has 4 air purifiers running full-time. “They allow our indoor air quality to stay nice and clean,” she said. Fischer further stressed that while outdoor pollution levels in Delhi can be severe, especially in winter, managing indoor air makes a significant difference.
“So we use air purifiers and our indoor air quality is usually quite good. This is how we handle the hard, high-pollution months living here in Delhi,” she said.
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In a detailed caption accompanying the post, Fischer expanded on her approach. “Indoor air is the most important. While I can’t change the condition outside, I can maintain a safe indoor environment for my family,” she wrote.
She noted that during winter, her family spends more time indoors and prioritises sleeping in “controlled and clean air”. “As long as our time outdoors is brief and intermittent, we can manage the pollution here in Delhi,” she added.
Fischer also pointed out that Delhi’s worst pollution is seasonal. “And also, the high pollution months are not all year. Mostly just November through January is bad. Otherwise, the air is much better in Delhi the rest of the year,” she wrote.
Clarifying further, she said indoor air quality does not improve on its own. “Indoor air quality is not always good like this, it is only due to the air purifiers we run full time. Without those the indoor air can be just as bad, or even worse than outside.”
She ended her post with a note of caution. “Stay safe out there all,” she wrote.
