Indoor air pollution in Nepal and counter measures

Indoor air pollution (household air pollution) is the presence of harmful pollutants in the air inside homes, schools and workplaces. In Nepal its main cause is the burning of solid fuels – firewood, dung cakes, crop residue – and kerosene in open fires or traditional stoves in poorly ventilated kitchens. Main pollutants: fine particles (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, formaldehyde, and NO₂.

Severity in Nepal

1. High dependence on biomass – about half of all households still use firewood as the main cooking fuel (Census 2021), almost all of them in rural areas; LPG use is mostly urban.
2. Poor kitchen design – traditional mud stoves or open "chulo" inside the house, with no chimney and small windows. Indoor PM2.5 levels during cooking can be tens of times higher than the WHO guideline.
3. Exposure of women and children – women cook for 3–5 hours a day; infants are carried on the back near the fire. In cold hilly and mountain areas the fire is also used for heating, so exposure lasts most of the day.
4. Health burden
   • Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia) in children under five – a leading cause of child death.
   • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in women, often in non-smokers.
   • Lung cancer, asthma, tuberculosis, cataract and eye irritation, low birth weight.
   • WHO estimates household air pollution causes millions of deaths a year worldwide; in Nepal it is one of the top risk factors for disease and death.
5. Other indoor sources – tobacco smoke, incense, kerosene lamps, mosquito coils, paints and dampness/mould.
6. Social and economic burden – time lost collecting firewood, medical cost, deforestation pressure.

Suggested counter measures

1. Cleaner fuels – shift to LPG, biogas and especially electric cooking (induction), now promoted by the government as hydropower supply grows.
2. Improved cook stoves (ICS) – stoves with chimneys and better combustion, promoted by AEPC (Alternative Energy Promotion Centre).
3. Biogas plants for households with cattle.
4. Better ventilation – windows, chimneys, smoke hoods; separate kitchen from living and sleeping rooms.
5. Dry fuel – use dry wood, keep children away from the fire.
6. Solar lamps in place of kerosene lamps.
7. Awareness and health education through FCHVs, schools and media about the danger of smoke.
8. Subsidy and policy – subsidies for ICS, biogas and induction cookers; target of "clean cooking for all".
9. No smoking indoors.