Cooking fuels and household air pollution

A study in the Kibera informal settlements of Nairobi assessed emissions of CO, CO2, and PM2.5 from charcoal, kerosene, LPG, and electricity, finding that charcoal and kerosene produce the highest pollution levels while ambient PM2.5 levels significantly exceed WHO guidelines.

• Cooking with charcoal and kerosene produced the highest concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), whereas LPG and electricity produced low concentrations with no significant difference between them.
• Household ambient PM2.5 levels in the studied area were measured at 213 μg/m3, which is 14.2 times higher than the World Health Organization's 24-hour threshold of 15 μg/m3.
• In the Kibera informal settlement, residents are exposed to harmful emissions due to high population density, poor ventilation in houses, poor waste management, and the use of kerosene and charcoal in inefficient stoves.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2026). Cooking fuels and household air pollution. https://www.sei.org/publications/cooking-fuels-household-air-pollution/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Cooking fuels and household air pollution. 2026. https://www.sei.org/publications/cooking-fuels-household-air-pollution/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Cooking fuels and household air pollution |date=11 February 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/cooking-fuels-household-air-pollution/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2026cooking, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Cooking fuels and household air pollution}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/cooking-fuels-household-air-pollution/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }