Cooking Food on Risk

Most of the Families, in Nepal cook food on wooden fire.

Especially in the remote hilly and mountains area, woods are the primary source of fire.

While in Tarai Region Guitha (biomass) is the main source of fire than LPG gas.

These are less expensive, affordable and easily accessible to the people living in remote areas.

This picture is clicked in Padhme, a village in Arghakachi district.

In this image a girl is cooking food on wooden fire where the kitchen is completely covered by smoke. They might be cheap in price but are hazardous to health.

Wood smoke emitted while cooking, contains Particulate Materials (PM) and gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and other pollutants such as dioxins, methane, furans, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Burning wood and biomass creates heavy localized air pollution, emitting a dangerous cocktail of smoke, gases, and ash.

Residential Burns can cause coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, heart attacks, and premature death, among other health effects.

This is also a large contributor to air pollution in Nepal.

It may not be seem at once, but a little each day is compounding to greater pollution. To be honest, 95% of cooking in Nepal is harmful to health.

Barely some use electric stove or other electric equipments to cook.

Hence, in the process of cooking food for survival, we are creating another threat to our own health.

Shifting to green and renewal energy as soon as possible while be beneficial for both environment and us.

But government levy tax on renewal energy instead of promoting it.