Zerodha Nithin Kamath in an interaction with American entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has raised concerns on rising AQI levels and how property prices must be linked to air pollution levels.
In a post X, Kamath said,
“The biggest takeaway for me after meeting @bryan_johnson was debunking the myth I once believed: that only Delhi in India has an air quality problem—and that it occurs only in winter.
If the AQI was this high in Bandra, just imagine the levels in the more crowded parts of the town.
Later, I got an AQI meter for our office in J.P. Nagar—a quiet corner of Bengaluru—and was shocked to see it reading 120+. Again, imagine how much worse it might be in the busier parts of the city. What makes matters trickier in Bengaluru is the dust from the ongoing construction boom and poor roads.
Most places in the US and Europe have AQIs below 50, which is considered good. An AQI of 50 to 100 is moderate, 100 to 150 is poor, 150 to 200 is unhealthy, 200 to 250 is severe, and above 250 is hazardous.
Long-term exposure to poor air quality can cause lung damage, cardiovascular problems, compromised immunity, an increased risk of cancer, and more—all of which ultimately affect quality of life. In Delhi, for example, the AQI can reach 500 or more in winter and 200+ in summer.
This has bothered me ever since. Everyone should have equal access to clean air. With water, you can use a filter to ensure decent quality. But what about air? We seem to have gotten used to the fact that air pollution is just a part of life, and we’re okay with breathing low-quality air—even though clean air is a fundamental right granted to citizens by the Constitution.
So, shouldn’t property prices be linked to AQI? The higher the AQI, the lower the real estate prices should be. That means if an area has poor air quality, property prices and rents should be lower, and vice versa. After all, by living in such areas, you are accepting higher odds of respiratory ailments, cancer, etc.
There also doesn’t seem to be much research on this in India. If you are a researcher thinking about or working on this topic, we’d love to connect with you. Perhaps some large hospital chains would be willing to provide anonymized data sets on health issues for researchers to work on.”
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