Many people probably know that the air quality is often poor along busy roads, which has led to the introduction of strict environmental zones in several places in Europe.
In Stockholm, for example, there is a ban on studded tires on certain streets, and in 2025 only electric and gas cars will be allowed in an area in the central parts of the city.
Many of us probably imagine that the air inside our cars maintains a fairly good quality, but research points to the opposite.
May raise blood pressure
Namely, breathing unfiltered air in the interior of your car can lead to a significant increase in blood pressure that lasts up to 24 hours. This is according to a new American study Newsweek.
The blood pressure increase from a two-hour morning drive through Seattle was 4.5 mmHg, and was still close to 4 mmHg the following morning.
The increase in blood pressure was unexpectedly large according to Joel Kaufmanprofessor at the University of Washington.
Brings several health risks
The increase in blood pressure measured in the study is at the same level as dietary factors, such as how much salt you eat, can result in.
High blood pressure can lead to heart problems, strokes and kidney diseases, among other things.
Most of the air pollution along busy roads comes from the exhaust pipes of petrol and diesel cars, and environmental zones that prohibit these should thus lead to better air quality inside the cars.
The big question is how quickly the environmental zones will be implemented, as they are often met with significant resistance.
In addition, electric cars are still significantly more expensive than their petrol and diesel-powered counterparts, and strict environmental zones thus exclude those with a lower car budget.
The manufacturers are working on the problem
One solution that Joel Kaufman mentions to improve the air quality in our cars is to install so-called HEPA filters, which filter out 99.97 percent of particles with a size down to 0.3 micrometers.
HEPA filters are not common on the car market today, but they are found in some of Mercedes’ most luxurious electric cars, such as the large sedan EQS.
The filter system is so large that it takes up the entire space in the front of the car, where other electric cars have an extra trunk, which is part of the explanation why similar systems are not more common on the market.