India plugs in fans to fight against air pollution

Forty giant fans have been installed on the country’s first so-called smog tower to filter nearly 1,000 cubic metres of air per second

Air pollution – is it a breeze?

India has turned to giant fans to future-proof itself against one of its biggest enemies, air pollution.

The country’s capital has launched the so-called ‘smog tower’, a 24-metre-tall structure with forty giant fans that can pump around 1,000 cubic metres of air every second through filters.

The filters will allegedly halve the amount of particulate matter.

The technology, the trial of which was approved by Delhi’s Cabinet last October, is predicted to improve air quality in a radius of around one kilometre.

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations Delhi. In the war against pollution, the country’s first smog tower made of American technology will reduce the amount of pollution in the air.

“If the results of this project started on a pilot basis are better, then more such smog towers will be installed all over Delhi.”

According to data from the Air Quality Life Index, which converts particulate air pollution into its impact on life expectancy, the most severe pollution is found in northern India, including Delhi and Kolkata.

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