Daniel Hagström, President and CEO, Blueair Cabin Air

Dubai, UAE, 24 October 2018: According to Blueair, most in-car air pollution comes from the exhaust fumes of the vehicle, which is directly ahead, while the remainder comes from industry, domestic fuel burning and air-borne micro-plastics sources. “The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in cars in the United Arab Emirates is 15 times worse as compared to the air on the road,” said Daniel Hagström, President and CEO, Blueair Cabin Air, during the launch of Blueair’s Cabin air purifiers. Elaborating, he said that children in cars are especially at high risk and are likely to suffer from in-car air pollution. According to Blueair, pollution exposure inside a car could be anywhere from 9-100% higher, as compared to the air outside, and at traffic lights the pollution inside the car is 40% higher than when the car is moving. UAE residents and citizens spend most of their time in the car while commuting and this can have serious implications on passenger health, asserted Hagström.

Explaining the aerodynamics of a car, Hagström said that the air goes over a car and with the exhaust tailpipe at the bottom of the car, the air is sucked in by the car behind. “Ideally, manufacturers must fit the exhaust pipe on top of the car,” suggested Hagström. He also said that many trucks today have the exhaust pipe at the top. Elaborating, he said that today car filters are not designed to completely purify the polluted air that is taken in, and hence, he said, there is a need for car owners to invest in filtration technology.