Household Air Pollution: Around 2.3 billion people around the world, i.e. one-third of the global population, still cook food using open fire, stoves run on kerosene, biomass i.e. wood, animal dung or coal. The harmful household air pollution emanating from this takes a toll on people’s health. You will also be shocked to see the WHO report on this. This harmful household air pollution is not only spoiling people’s health but is also proving to be fatal, especially for children.
This smoke is deadly for children
Even though technology has become very modern, from gas cylinders to air fryers, even today around 2.3 billion people around the world are forced to cook food using chulha, stove or coal and wood. Most of these people are poor and from the lower class. If we look at the WHO report, domestic air pollution was responsible for an estimated 3.2 million deaths per year in the year 2020, including the death of more than 2 lakh 37 thousand children under the age of 5.
Domestic fuel increases the risk of these diseases
Household air pollution increases the risk of non-communicable diseases including stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.
If we look at the statistics, women and children are particularly and above all victims of such diseases. Pollution caused by household air pollution includes a variety of pollutants that harm health, including small particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the blood circulation.
Women and children cooking on stoves become victims
In houses where there is no proper ventilation, smoke enters the house and then cannot escape completely. The risk is especially high for women and children, who spend most of their time near the stove. In fact, when the women of the house cook food on the stove or open fire, the smoke inside the house increases and this smoke causes the most harm to the health of small children and can even prove fatal.
The danger has decreased after PM’s Ujjwala scheme
A report claims that the use of LPG as a cooking fuel is estimated to have prevented about 1.5 lakh pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019 alone. The report also claims that the PM Ujjwala Yojana also helped avoid at least 1.8 million tonnes of PM2.5 emissions that year. According to the report, there has been a 13% reduction in deaths due to air pollution.
WHO guidelines
To reduce indoor air pollution and protect health, it is important to increase the use of clean fuels and technologies. These include solar energy, electricity, biogas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, alcohol fuel, as well as biomass stoves, which are safe according to WHO guidelines and whose use should be increased.
Disclaimer: Some of the information given in the news is based on media reports. Before implementing any suggestion, please consult the concerned expert.
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