As the nation succumbs to the festival frenzy and businesses prepare for booming sales, consumers in northern India are equipping themselves with a crucial device amidst plummeting temperatures: air purifiers.

Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director of Vijay Sales, remarked, ?While air purifiers see minimal sales throughout the year, the demand escalates during this period in Delhi and its surrounding regions. We've noticed an uptick in sales as the pollution season approaches.? Gupta revealed that their stores, which usually sell five to seven air purifiers daily, witnessed an exceptional spike, with 50 units sold in a single day earlier this week. During the peak of the pollution season in the past, the stores used to sell 200-250 air purifiers daily.

Gupta added, ?This is just the beginning, as these are early buyers. Last year, pollution in northern India was relatively under control. Additionally, people were wearing masks due to Covid, which also dampened air purifier sales. However, this year, masks are off. Sales will depend on how severe the pollution becomes.?

During the winter season, pollution levels in northern India tend to rise due to factors like stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab, vehicular congestion, and smoke from firecrackers.

A sales executive at a Croma store in South Extension, Delhi, noted the increasing demand for air purifiers. Until a month ago, the store sold merely one to two units daily, but now the number has risen to 10-12 units a day. The executive expressed expectations for these figures to rise significantly as Diwali is still a while away.

Those looking to protect themselves from the pollution typically turn to trusted brands such as Dyson and Philips, stated Gupta. Dyson recently introduced the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet, capable of purifying air in spaces up to 1,000 sq ft. They also launched Dyson zone headphones, equipped with an attachable travel visor that provides purified air to the wearer.

To maintain pollution levels, the Delhi government reinstated the ban on the production, storage, sale, and utilisation of firecrackers in the capital on September 11. Measures outlined in the Centre?s Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage I were implemented in Delhi on October 6, coinciding with an average air quality index (AQI) of 212

Source: Business Standard