Switching from coal and wood to electricity or gas for cooking and heating
People who cook using coal or wood face roughly a 10% higher chance of dying over the same period compared to others; those who heat their homes this way have a roughly 14% higher risk. Those who have already switched to electricity or gas have a 13%–33% lower mortality risk than those still relying on coal and wood.
Rural households need to replace their stoves and also pay…
One Chinese study followed 271,000 adults without cardiovascular disease, recording their health outcomes with…
Rural households need to replace their stoves and also pay higher fuel costs; this adds up to several hundred to over a thousand yuan per year. The switch is a one-time effort and doesn’t require ongoing time investment. In cities, most households already use electricity or gas.
One Chinese study followed 271,000 adults without cardiovascular disease, recording their health outcomes without grouping them by lifestyle. People who cooked using solid fuels such as coal or wood had an 11% higher risk of death compared to those using electricity or gas (HR 1.11). Those who used solid fuels for heating faced a 14% higher risk (HR 1.14). Among people who had switched from solid fuels to cleaner alternatives, the risk dropped by 13% for cooking (HR 0.87) and by 33% for heating (HR 0.67). Separate data also show that for every 10 µg/m³ increase in long-term exposure to outdoor PM2.5, the risk of death from natural causes rises by about 8% (RR 1.08). In total, 104 studies were analyzed for this conclusion. Natural causes refer to deaths not caused by accidents.
Yu K 等 (2018). Association of Solid Fuel Use With Risk of Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality in Rural China. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.2151；Chen J, Hoek G (2020). Long-term exposure to PM and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environment International. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105974
Open source linkThese studies merely track health outcomes over time. Households that switch to cleaner fuels are often wealthier, so part of the observed 0.67-fold reduction in risk is likely linked to socioeconomic factors. Regarding outdoor PM2.5, individuals have limited options — moving to a cleaner area, wearing masks, or using air purifiers. There are no studies evaluating air purifiers based on mortality rates, so no specific figures are provided here.