Experts recommend integrated solutions, including transitioning to cleaner cooking fuels and technology in developing nations, better regulation and labeling of cleaning products, increased consumer awareness, and climate change mitigation efforts to reduce both indoor and outdoor air pollution and improve public health.

Indoor air pollution from household sources, especially in developing countries like India, poses a major health risk, with biomass fuel use in cooking leading to high PM2.5 exposure and increased respiratory diseases, including a risk of COPD over 2.5 times higher than households using cleaner fuels.

Traditional biomass cookstoves can produce indoor PM2.5 levels exceeding 700 micrograms per cubic meter during cooking, significantly surpassing safe limits and mainly affecting women who spend more time in poorly ventilated kitchens.

Air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, impacts pulmonary health and can affect multiple organ systems as pollutants like PM2.5 enter the bloodstream, transforming air quality issues into systemic health threats.

Household cleaning products contribute to indoor air pollution through volatile organic compounds and ultrafine particles, increasing respiratory symptoms by 50% and raising COPD risk by 40%, with women and children being most affected.

Maternal exposure to cleaning chemicals around conception and during pregnancy has been linked to a higher risk of asthma in children, indicating potential transgenerational health impacts.

Outdoor air pollution, driven by sources such as coal, oil, gas, biofuels, and climate-related wildfires, is the second leading risk factor for global illness and death, especially threatening children and the elderly in low-income regions like South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.