Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh
Health hazards caused by indoor air pollution (IAP) remain a global concern, especially in developing countries. IAP has complex mechanisms related to outdoor air pollution (OAP) and various other factors, and their relationship needs to be clarified to examine effective policies. We conducted an in...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| author | Masamitsu Kurata Akira Hibiki Kazushi Takahashi Yutaka Matsumi |
| author_facet | Masamitsu Kurata Akira Hibiki Kazushi Takahashi Yutaka Matsumi |
| author_sort | Masamitsu Kurata |
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| description | Health hazards caused by indoor air pollution (IAP) remain a global concern, especially in developing countries. IAP has complex mechanisms related to outdoor air pollution (OAP) and various other factors, and their relationship needs to be clarified to examine effective policies. We conducted an indoor and outdoor air monitoring survey in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas in Bangladesh, one of the countries with the most severe air pollution. The results show that IAP is more severe in urban households than in rural households, with a five-fold difference in daily indoor <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">P</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">M</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2.5</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> concentration between 117 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">g</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and 22 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">g</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, respectively. Regression analysis reveals that IAP is strongly associated with OAP and is hardly affected by solid fuels used in well-ventilated outside kitchens. Our findings support the view that the mitigation of IAP in developing countries can be achieved not only through a transition to clean fuels, which often entails substantial costs, but also through more practical and accessible alternatives, such as the use of outdoor kitchens, electric fans, and careful management of behaviors such as indoor smoking and mosquito coil use. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-f8bb1116cbcb4e15a567a8a2e7866dc22025-08-20T02:21:49ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042025-06-0113650910.3390/toxics13060509Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in BangladeshMasamitsu Kurata0Akira Hibiki1Kazushi Takahashi2Yutaka Matsumi3Department of Economics, Sophia University, Tokyo 102-8554, JapanGraduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8576, JapanGraduate School of Policy Studies, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo 106-8677, JapanInstitute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, JapanHealth hazards caused by indoor air pollution (IAP) remain a global concern, especially in developing countries. IAP has complex mechanisms related to outdoor air pollution (OAP) and various other factors, and their relationship needs to be clarified to examine effective policies. We conducted an indoor and outdoor air monitoring survey in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas in Bangladesh, one of the countries with the most severe air pollution. The results show that IAP is more severe in urban households than in rural households, with a five-fold difference in daily indoor <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">P</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">M</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2.5</mn></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> concentration between 117 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">g</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and 22 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">g</mi><mo>/</mo><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, respectively. Regression analysis reveals that IAP is strongly associated with OAP and is hardly affected by solid fuels used in well-ventilated outside kitchens. Our findings support the view that the mitigation of IAP in developing countries can be achieved not only through a transition to clean fuels, which often entails substantial costs, but also through more practical and accessible alternatives, such as the use of outdoor kitchens, electric fans, and careful management of behaviors such as indoor smoking and mosquito coil use.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/509indoor air pollutionoutdoor air pollutionsolid fuel |
| spellingShingle | Masamitsu Kurata Akira Hibiki Kazushi Takahashi Yutaka Matsumi Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh Toxics indoor air pollution outdoor air pollution solid fuel |
| title | Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh |
| title_full | Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh |
| title_short | Urban-Rural Differences in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality: A Comparative Study in Bangladesh |
| title_sort | urban rural differences in indoor and outdoor air quality a comparative study in bangladesh |
| topic | indoor air pollution outdoor air pollution solid fuel |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/509 |
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