After anti-ageing influencer Bryan Johnson revealed that he faced difficulties and left Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast midway due to poor air quality in the Mumbai hotel, Kamath's brother and Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath called the incident an eye-opener, saying that he once believed only Delhi in India had an air quality problem.

Talking about his new realization, Nithin in an X post wrote, "The biggest takeaway for me after meeting Bryan Johnson was debunking the myth I once believed: that only Delhi in India has an air quality problem—and that it occurs only in winter.

We recorded Nikhil Kamath's (link in the following tweet) WTF podcast in a sea-facing apartment in Bandra, Mumbai, and the AQI was a whopping 160+. If the AQI was this high in Bandra, just imagine the levels in the more crowded parts of the town."

The billionaire said that he was shocked when he found out that the AQI reading in Bengaluru's JP Nagar, where his office is situated, was 120+.

"Again, imagine how much worse it might be in the busier parts of the city. What makes matters trickier in Bengaluru is the dust from the ongoing construction boom and poor roads," he said.

The Zerodha CEO pointed out that in most parts of the US and other European countries, the AQI remains below 50, which is considered good.

He further explained, "An AQI of 50 to 100 is moderate, 100 to 150 is poor, 150 to 200 is unhealthy, 200 to 250 is severe, and above 250 is hazardous."

Expressing concern over the adverse effects caused by poor air quality, Nithin invited researchers who are thinking about or working on this issue to collaborate.

The billionaire, who has a separate philanthropic organization (Rainmatter) aimed at working on issues related to climate change, wondered how people who invest in filters for purified water don't think of investing in air purifiers.

"We seem to have gotten used to the fact that air pollution is just a part of life, and we're okay with breathing low-quality air—even though clean air is a fundamental right granted to citizens by the Constitution," he said.

Remarking on the limited research done in India on poor air quality and its effects on public health, Kamath invited researchers working in this field to get in touch with him. "If you are a researcher thinking about or working on this topic, we'd love to connect with you. Perhaps some large hospital chains would be willing to provide anonymized data sets on health issues for researchers to work on," he said. "Please let us know if you are working on AQI, its impact on both personal and public health, or if you intend to explore it further. We at Rainmatter would like to collaborate. We are trying to improve quality of life, and air quality plays a significant role in many cities across the country."