Livelihood vs Health

We have classified the wildfire, agricultural burns and residential burns as the source of air pollution.

But there is one more type of burn that contribute to air pollution i.e.

Productive Burn.

This type of burn is done with the profit motive so it is unfair to categorise them within residential burns.

This type of burns includes Roasted Corn, Tandoori Chicken and Roti, and other street foods made of natural fire and the fire used in picnic or bonfire etc.

This kind of burns also contribute to air pollution to some extend. The image represents a women in the streets selling roasted corn to a girl.

The picture also captures the process of roasting the corn, where a corn is placed in a pan (Karai) full of burned wood.

This kind of small businesses / vendors are also a silent contributors to the air pollution.

There are some evergreen and some seasonal businesses which use wooden fire to make profit.

This is crucial if we look from environmental perspective.

Even though this is not large contributor or mostly talked one.

But silently it is compounding air pollution.

The street vendors engaged in such business are one of vulnerable groups to air pollution because they are directly exposed to heat and smoke of such fire.

It is challenge for them to maintain the hygiene of the foods sold from external pollutants as well. This kind of small businesses, fun activities are silently contributing to the air pollution and concerning AQI.

This productive burns with small fires, compounding with each and other plays a vital role in making the Atmospheric Veil more thick.