Does Bryan Johnson have a point? His reason for abruptly ending Nikhil Kamath's interview and why 'PM2.5' matters

Billionaire and biohacking enthusiast Bryan Johnson, who is known for his 'Project Blueprint' through which he tries to stay young with the help of his 30 doctors and invasive tests, recently walked out of Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast 'WTF is.' No, he wasn't perplexed by Nikhil's questions but by the air quality in the room where the interview was held! While he acknowledged he had a great time talking to Nikhil, the room in which they sat apparently had outside air getting circulated, and it made Johnson's air purifier ineffective. On his social media post, Bryan Johnson wrote, "Inside, the Air Quality Index was 130 and PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometres or less) was 75 µg/m3, which is equal to smoking 3.4 cigarettes for 24 hours of exposure. This was my third day in India and the air pollution had made my skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn."

Johnson said that air pollution is so normalised in India that nobody notices it anymore, and even children are exposed to it from birth. 'People would be outside running. No one wore a mask, which can significantly decrease exposure. It was so confusing,' wrote the 47-year-old tech entrepreneur. While there is no official clarity on which city the interview was held in, netizens are speculating that Bengaluru, which is comparatively considered cleaner compared to other big Indian cities, was probably where it was conducted as Nikhil is based out of Bengaluru. 

Does Bryan Johnson have a point?
According to the World Bank, India is exposed to unhealthy levels of ambient PM2.5, which is considered the most harmful pollutant. It is made of tiny pollution particles and is the main air quality indicator. The Environmental Protection Agency, which often works with the UN on environment related issues, a healthy level of PM2.5 is 9 g/m3 on average, over a year. On a 24-hour period, it can be around 35 g/m3. As mentioned above, in India, it is 75 µg/m3, according to Bryan Johnson. A bad PM2.5 can cause premature death, asthma attacks, coughing, shortness of breath, chronic and acute bronchitis and even chest infection. Experts say that the pollutant can even enter your blood and trigger cancers, respiratory issues and cardiovascular diseases. Its risks are also the highest in kids and the elderly. It's anybody's guess now on why a technopreneur on a biohack project would not want to risk his health in such a circumstance.

What causes a high PM2.5?
The many sources of particulate matter that we see in India include smoking, industrial gases, smoke from fires, wood heaters, fireworks, stoves, and car and truck exhausts. According to The Lancet journal, in the year 2019, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors, which is conducted by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, attributed 0.98 million deaths in India to 'ambient air pollution,' which means the outdoor air pollution in urban areas.  The environmental data research tool 'Air Quality Life Index (AQLI)' calls India the 'World's Most Polluted Country,' saying that PM2.5 shortens India's life expectancy by 53 years! It is also called the 'Northern Plains' the most polluted region and says the people there will lose 8 years of life exectancy. If Delhi reduces its pollution, its residents can gain around 11.9 years of life expectancy, says AQLI. 
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