2/1/2024 0 Comments Cooking fever not workingLikewise, the higher expenses of electric cooking appliances, restrictive tariff structures, frequent outages, and a lack of public knowledge also hinder the use of electricity for cooking. While firewood may be freely available locally, bulky liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is costlier and difficult to transport in remote areas due to a lack of appropriate infrastructure. Nevertheless, IAP is affecting the health of the population and killing 24,000 people each year in Nepal.ĭespite the health hazards caused by traditional fuels and cooking practices, Nepalis continue to use them due to the limited availability of affordable and reliable clean energy sources. The biomass smoke releases various pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, etc., which potentially cause stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, bronchitis and lung cancer. The problem of smoke is compounded further in poorly ventilated kitchens. They mostly use traditional biomass cookstoves that are inefficient and generate a lot of smoke. According to the Nepal Economic Forum, biomass accounts for 69 percent of primary energy consumption in Nepal, whereas for 63.6 percent of rural households, biomass remains the predominant cooking fuel. The use of traditional energy sources exacerbates the problem of indoor air pollution. Around 2.4 billion people-a third of the world's population-still cook using open fires or inefficient stoves that rely on kerosene, biomass (wood, cattle dung, crop waste) and coal. Moreover, IAP is the fourth leading cause of illnesses and deaths in developing countries, primarily due to poor cooking and heating practices. Worryingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2020, indoor air pollution (IAP) claimed the lives of over 3.2 million people, including 237,000 children under five. The plan, however, emphasises outdoor air pollution than indoor. In 2020, Nepal Government approved the Kathmandu Valley Air Quality Management Action Plan, a milestone in tackling air pollution.
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