By Dr Pratima Singh, Udhaya Kumar V, and Reghu Ram R
With several of us becoming forced to commit more time indoors due to work-from-dwelling policies and digital classrooms, it is vital to take the good quality of air inside our residences more seriously than prior to. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) truth sheet, indoor air pollution is one of the key causes for respiratory ailments and premature deaths in building nations, contributing to almost 40 lakh deaths annually. In most instances, the culprit is particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5)—tiny invisible pollutants that hang in the air for a extended period and are several instances smaller sized than the diameter of the human hair. PM2.5 can settle deep in the lungs, causing respiratory illnesses and even cancer.
Globally, WHO estimates that about 300 crore men and women use strong fuels such as firewood, crop waste, charcoal, coal, and dung cakes for cooking and heating. Women, infants, and senior citizens are specifically impacted by indoor emissions and the exposure to pollutants, like PM2.5 and carbon monoxide (a toxic gas that can permanently harm the brain and heart). Getting exposed to pollutants in an indoor setting is even more dangerous as enclosed locations preserve these particles trapped, major to larger densities. According to the State of Global Air 2020 report by the Health Effects Institute, 61% of the Indian population is exposed to household air pollution from strong fuels.
Policy thrust and challenges
The National Human Activity Pattern Survey suggests that men and women commit practically 90% of their time indoors. Therefore, measures to tackle indoor air pollution are essential. The Government of India (GOI) has initiated various schemes such as the Unnat Chulha Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), and the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) or Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh (PAHAL) scheme for advertising clean cooking fuels.
As per the estimates of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, central government schemes have enabled LPG access to 97.4% of Indian households. However, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) India Energy Outlook 2021 asserts that practically half of India’s population is nevertheless reliant on biomass fuels. A functionality audit carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India as well reveals that about one-fourth of the PMUY beneficiaries use each LPG and unclean fuels. Several components, like the straightforward availability of strong fuels, unavailability of LPG refilling centres in rural locations amongst other people influence people’s selection-generating, with the steep pricing of cylinders topping the list.
The way forward
Popularising LPG cylinders and electric stoves ought to kind the core of the tactic to decrease indoor air pollution stemming from cooking. Subsidising LPG cylinders additional for vulnerable communities, whilst placing a cap on the quantity of cylinders distributed per year could be an selection. Although this would add substantially to the Government’s monetary burden, the prospective wellness added benefits from lowered air pollution may possibly be worth the work.
Currently, induction cookers kind just 1% of the cooking power demand as per IEA’s India Energy Outlook 2021. This could be due to the fact of components such as intermittent energy outages, the want for investing in induction-friendly kitchen utensils, and the ease and familiarity of regular cooking devices.
The Government ought to also examine and adopt alternate models that concentrate on fuel-effective and smokeless stoves. An evaluation published in Energy for Sustainable Development in 2018 indicates that China and Ethiopia have correctly adopted low-emission compressed biomass stoves and ethanol clean cook-stoves, respectively. Improving the ventilation of current stoves is yet another aspect that ought to be encouraged. According to an write-up published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2002, a very simple style tweak that combined hooded stoves with chimneys lowered the incidence of cancer by a whopping 40% in Xuanwei, China. This underlines the significance of ventilation to preserve indoor air pollutants at bay.
Thus, efficient interventions want to be produced at behavioural, technical, and policy levels to decrease indoor air pollution in India. This could nicely begin with elevated awareness about the good quality of the air we breathe and its impact on our well-being.
The authors work with the Center for Study of Science, Technology & Policy (CSTEP), a study-based consider tank. Views expressed are their personal.