To add some value to this linkpost, here are my notes from reading this long article:
It’s an article on an anonymous blog in 2020. The author does cite their research, though, so you can draw your own conclusions.
The section “What I recommend” lists ten lifestyle recommendations (many of which are quite unintuitive) to reduce the effect of bad air quality on your life expectancy.
Every item in the initial table comparing lifestyle / single event to life cost due to bad air quality is explained and accompanied with citations. Specifically, here’s how the article quantifies harm by PM 2.5 particles in the air (the math is based on two big papers, but I couldn’t tell whether the interpretation or implication were plausible):
A heuristic to quantify harms
How much do particles hurt you? While it’s hard to be precise, this section will give two simple heuristics:
A life-long exposure of 33.3 PM2.5 costs 1 DALY. This is best for lifestyle changes. For example, moving from somewhere with no particulates to somewhere with a level of 100 costs 3 DALY.
At 2500 PM2.5, you lose disability-adjusted life in real time. This is best for one-off events. For example, if you’re exposed to a level of 5000 for 3 hours, you lose 6 disability-adjusted life hours.
In any case, you can disregard this specific heuristic and just act based on the article’s specifics:
Air quality in trains and underground stations is apparently *extremely bad*. The numbers are truly ridiculous.
Ultrasonic humidifiers and incense are also really bad.
Candles emit most of their particulates when extinguished, so if you must use candles regularly, extinguish them with a lid.
Cooking emits lots of particulates, so opening a window or using a kitchen range hood helps a ton.
and more; see the section “What I recommend” at the top of the article, with elaboration and caveats at the bottom.
To add some value to this linkpost, here are my notes from reading this long article:
It’s an article on an anonymous blog in 2020. The author does cite their research, though, so you can draw your own conclusions.
The section “What I recommend” lists ten lifestyle recommendations (many of which are quite unintuitive) to reduce the effect of bad air quality on your life expectancy.
Every item in the initial table comparing lifestyle / single event to life cost due to bad air quality is explained and accompanied with citations. Specifically, here’s how the article quantifies harm by PM 2.5 particles in the air (the math is based on two big papers, but I couldn’t tell whether the interpretation or implication were plausible):
In any case, you can disregard this specific heuristic and just act based on the article’s specifics:
Air quality in trains and underground stations is apparently *extremely bad*. The numbers are truly ridiculous.
Ultrasonic humidifiers and incense are also really bad.
Candles emit most of their particulates when extinguished, so if you must use candles regularly, extinguish them with a lid.
Cooking emits lots of particulates, so opening a window or using a kitchen range hood helps a ton.
and more; see the section “What I recommend” at the top of the article, with elaboration and caveats at the bottom.