Indoor air pollution is a global health issue, not just a domestic heating one

LONDON: When indoor air pollution makes the news in western countries, it often feels like a local issue. One week it focuses on wood-burning stoves. Another it is gas cookers or the question of whether people should open their windows more often in winter.

In developing countries, indoor air pollution is framed as a development problem, linked to people cooking and heating with wood, charcoal or other solid fuels, often in homes with limited ventilation.

These two debates rarely meet. Our new study, which analyses air pollution mortality risk across 150 countries, suggests they describe the same public health challenge.

We have found that air pollution, including exposure inside homes, contributes substantially to premature death worldwide – that is, deaths occurring earlier than expected due to air pollution-related increases in disease risk.

Exposure levels and sources vary widely, but indoor air pollution consistently adds to national mortality risk across income levels. One problem, different sources

When indoor air pollutants enter the lungs, they can trigger inflammation and place long-term strain on the heart and respiratory system.

The same biological processes occur when pollution comes from a wood stove in a rural village or from a poorly ventilated cooker in a modern flat.

Our study does not measure household-level exposure or behaviour. Instead, taking a wider view, we studied country-level patterns and examined how access to clean cooking fuels, electricity, healthcare and broader socioeconomic conditions relate to air pollution mortality risk.

Our results show a clear and consistent pattern. Countries such as the UK with greater access to clean household energy and stronger health systems experience much lower mortality risk linked to air pollution.

Countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Togo, where energy deprivation remains widespread, face far higher risks.

Most existing research on indoor air pollution focuses on rural households and communities. Such work is essential, but it misses the bigger structural picture.

Our research reveals the global picture and shows that the same broad drivers influence risk

across the world.