A Study on the Air Quality Index Awareness and People's Participation in Sustainability Initiatives

Air pollution represents the greatest environmental risks to human health. Globally, an annual estimation of premature death due to air pollution is 7.9 to 8.1 million. The Air Quality Index awareness is important for protecting public health, enabling individuals to make decisions about outdoor activities to reduce exposure to harmful pollutants. The Government of India has launched several initiatives to create awareness about the Air Quality Index (AQI), aiming to help citizens understand pollution levels, associated health risks, and necessary precautions. Still the Air Quality Index of Navi Mumbai has been consistently higher since past ten years. This study aims to assess the level of Air Quality Index awareness among people and examine the relationship between AQI awareness and people’s participation in sustainability initiatives. The paper adopted a cross-sectional survey study as research design. Online questionnaires were distributed among 85 respondents of Navi Mumbai area and data collected were analysed through descriptive statistics, Reliability Analysis and correlational analysis in social science research.

The study concludes that AQI awareness significantly influences sustainability participation. Enhancing public awareness can therefore contribute to improved environmental outcomes.