Clean Air Night is a campaign led by Global Action Plan to draw attention to the harmful effects of wood burning. To mark this, Maddie de Vicq (Clinical Fellow for Sustainability and Climate Change) shares the impact that wood burning and air pollution can have on our health.
At this time of year, it feels like winter will go on forever. The thought of curling up by a cosy fire seems inviting but there is an uncomfortable truth about wood burning.
In the UK, domestic wood burning is now responsible for more harmful fine particle air pollution (PM 2.5) than all road transport emissions combined1. From the 1970s to the early 2000s levels of air pollutants steadily declined, largely due to improved transport standards and reduced coal burning. This change has plateaued in recent years as more and more people fit wood burning stoves into their homes. Emissions from domestic wood burning increased by 56% between 2012 and 20221.
Despite extensive evidence, most people do not know the effects that air pollution can have on human health. Until recently, I was completely unaware but now feel strongly that we need to educate the public on the harmful effects of domestic wood burning.
Outdoor air pollution and harms to health
Annual excess mortality from air pollution in England is estimated to be between 26,000 and 38,000 people a year2. In 2021, exposure to air pollution was the second most significant risk factor for mortality globally, ranking above smoking, poor diet, and high blood glucose.3
Contrary to common belief, air pollution affects more than just our respiratory health. PM 2.5 is small enough to enter the bloodstream and travel to distant organs. Long-term exposure can lead to ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cognitive decline and dementia, as well as lung disease and lung cancer.2
Air pollution particles can even reach the fetal side of the placenta4 and maternal exposure to PM 2.5 during pregnancy has been associated with increased risks of low birth weight, preterm birth and stillbirth.5
At least one in three babies are growing up in areas of the UK with unsafe levels of particulate matter6. People living in the most deprived areas are more likely to be exposed to high levels of air pollution and are more at risk of negative health effects7.
The uncomfortable truth about wood burning
Lighting fires in our homes (domestic combustion) is the single biggest source PM 2.5 in the UK. Burning wood accounts for 75% of these emissions.1 If you can smell wood smoke, you and anyone nearby are breathing in harmful air pollution. Everyone, especially the most vulnerable, experience the consequences of wood burning in neighbouring homes and communities.8
Only 8% of burning households do so out of necessity (as their main source of heating). The majority of people who burn wood are from more affluent households in urban areas and do so in addition to their main heating source, often for reasons of tradition or aesthetics.9
Myth busting common misconceptions
“It’s not a problem if I have an ‘ecodesign’ burner”
Even the newest DEFRA-exempt wood burners are substantially more polluting (335 g/MWh) than gas boilers (0.72 g/MWh) or heat pumps (0 g/MWh)2. The surge in the installation of newer wood burners is driving recent increases in particulate emissions from domestic combustion in the UK.
“Wood burning is carbon-neutral”
Burning wood releases more carbon dioxide (CO2) than oil or gas for the same amount of heat or energy. Even where reforestation occurs, it can take decades for the trees to regrow and absorb the initial carbon emitted.
“Word burning is cheaper than other forms of heating”
Wood burners are often more expensive than gas boilers or heat pumps. In a typical urban household, the annual cost of using an existing wood burner is 15% higher than a gas boiler. UK wood fuel prices have increased 44.3% in the last 5 years, partly driven by increasing demand.10
What can we do about it?
It may be the depths of winter but it’s not all doom and gloom. Many causes of environmental harm feel largely beyond our control, but this is an area where we can all make an impact. Avoiding wood burning, working from home when you can and using active or public transport can all help. As a healthcare professional, you can also discuss the risks of air pollution and how to minimise these with your patients.
At the RCOG, it’s a key priority to support members to respond to the climate crisis and advocate for a healthier future for women and girls. The climate and ecological crisis affects women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, from the streets of the UK, where air pollution limits lives and affects pregnancy outcomes, to the severe disruption to health care experienced by women and girls living in areas most vulnerable to the effects of increasingly extreme weather.
Jemima Hartshorn (Founder and Director of Mums for Lungs) said,
“The scientific evidence is clear that air pollution significantly impacts the health of children from conception through to adolescence. We need impactful action from our government as soon as possible to make our air in the UK safe to breathe. At the moment we risk falling far behind other countries in western Europe whose legal air quality limits are soon to be tightened through better legislation. Children need clean air to be healthy and Clean Air Night helps to raise awareness of this often overlooked public health emergency.”
If you are interested in joining our effort to tackle the climate and ecological crisis in women's health please consider signing up to the RCOG’s upcoming Green Maternity Conference on March 19th 2025: Green Maternity Conference: Taking collective action to deliver low carbon, equitable maternity care
- Read more about the College’s ambition for sustainability and climate change here.
- Read the RCOG position statement on Outdoor air pollution and pregnancy in the UK.
More resources and ways you can get involved in Clean Air Night and help to reduce air pollution:
- Visit Global Action Plans clean air hub here.
- Read this blog by air quality expert Dr Malcom White.
- Check out the Mums for Lungs resources and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s Air Pollution Companion | RCPCH.
- Find resources on how to talk to patients from the Global Action Plan and Air Pollution Companion.
- Watch NHS North East London’s video on how to reduce your exposure to air pollution here.
References:
1 Emissions of air pollutants in the UK – Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) - GOV.UK
2 Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2022
6 UNICEF, A breath of toxic air: UK children in danger (2018)
7 Clearing the air: pollution in London | London City Hall
8 Clean Air Night | Global Action Plan
10 https://urbanhealth.org.uk/insights/reports/wood-burning-is-more-expensive-than-central-heating