Every winter, smog settles across North India, burning people’s eyes, making them cough, and increasing hospital visits. The pollution comes from vehicles, burning landfills, crop stubble fires, and other sources.
About 25% of these fumes are from indoor open cooking fires.
The World Health Organisation is hosting its first conference this week to figure out how to protect people from toxic air—including emissions from open cooking fires.
This is a story about global efforts to cut down indoor air pollution—which kills over 3.8 million people annually—and how things got a little twisted along the way.