How Bad Is The Air Inside Your Car?

TVOCs or total volatile organic compounds can make the air quality inside a car worse than the air outside.

The air contaminated by TVOCs inside cars can be pretty toxic.

Photo: The Quint

Air pollution is a big problem in our cities these days. But did you know that the air quality inside your air-conditioned car could be even worse than it is outside?

Studies have shown that besides particulate matter, which can be controlled to some extent by rolling up the windows and using an air-conditioner with a filter, cars have another deadly pollutant – TVOC or total volatile organic compounds.

TVOCs are chemical gases that are given off from the plastics, rubber, leather and other materials inside cars. These become worse when a car is parked in the sun and the temperatures rise.

How bad can it get?

Armed with an air-quality monitor from Kaiterra that shows overall air quality index, PM 2.5 levels, ozone levels, humidity, temperature and the TVOC index, we decided to conduct an experiment.

We checked the readings outside for ambient air quality and then measured the levels inside the car. We also used a car air purifier to see if the levels improved with about 30 minutes of usage. The results aren’t promising. See for yourself.