Blog · 3 October 2026

Clean air for small lungs: why we filter the air in Dubai

Every parent in Dubai knows the days when the sky turns beige and a fine layer of dust settles on everything. Adults notice it in their eyes and throat. Young children notice it too, but they cannot always tell us.

Small lungs work harder

Children breathe faster than adults and, for their body size, take in more air with every minute. Their lungs are still growing through the early years. The World Health Organization describes children as especially vulnerable to polluted air for exactly these reasons. What is in the air of a classroom matters more for a three-year-old than for the adults around them.

Why HEPA

A true HEPA filter is built to catch at least 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns across, the size that is hardest to trap. That covers fine dust, pollen and much of what drifts in from outside on a sandy day. At evergreen our classrooms run on HEPA-filtered air, so the room a child spends the morning in is the cleanest air of their day.

We chose this when we designed the school, not as an add-on. In a city where windows often stay shut for the air conditioning, the air inside is the air children live in.

Clean air indoors, fresh air outdoors

Filtering the air is not a reason to keep children inside. Breathing outdoors, moving, digging and running in daylight is part of a healthy early childhood, and our 10,000 sq ft of outdoor space and real garden are used every day. Clean air indoors means children come to their outdoor time rested and well, and come back in to a calm room that has not filled with dust.

What you can ask any school

When you visit a nursery, ask how the classrooms are ventilated, whether the air is filtered and how often filters are changed. Ask where children play outdoors and for how long. A good school will be glad you asked.

You are welcome to ask us all of these on a tour. Book a visit and breathe it for yourself.