Cold snap resulting in more fires being lit at home – and air quality is suffering
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The link between lighting the fire in the sitting room on a cold evening and poor air quality outside is still being missed by many, one of Ireland's foremost experts on air quality has warned.
Professor emeritus of chemistry at UCC John Sodeau said the recent cold snap has led to smoke-filled evenings in the air all across the country.
While air quality in Cork was of reasonable quality over the Christmas period, because of higher temperatures than normal for the time of year, the sudden cold spell has led to fires being lit all over the county this week.
Anyone stepping outside in the city or county in recent evenings will have experienced the smell of smoke in the air as a result of a sharp increase in fuel being burned in homes – a cultural phenomenon in Ireland that is proving hard to change, Prof Sodeau said.
Despite the ban on smoky coal in more than 40 urban areas across the country, and new regulations banning the burning of the most polluting fuels set to come into force this year, the practice is still prevalent in some areas, according to Prof Sodeau.
"Wood is sold as a renewable, good source of fuel but is even worse than coal because it produces more particles. It's not healthy. Any amount of smoke, particularly the smaller particles, are a problem," he said.
Particulate matter is said to be all solid and liquid particles suspended in air, such as dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets.
Ireland was above World Health Organisation air quality guidelines for particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and ozone at 52 monitoring sites across the country last year, according to the most recent report from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Central heating is not a long-term fix because it is is fossil fuel-powered and a contributing factor to the climate crisis, Prof Sodeau said.
"However, discouraging solid fuel burning for health reasons is key. While there are climate change reasons for eliminating oil and gas heating in the future, getting rid of smoky fuels is paramount for public health," he said.
Poor air quality causes 1,300 needlessly premature deaths in Ireland through the likes of respiratory problems, data show.
The transition to retrofitted homes and renewable energy will be crucial in the coming decade, Prof Sodeau said.
The Climate Action Plan, published by the Government in November, aims to retrofit half a million homes to more efficient and cleaner heating standards in the coming decade.
By 2030, the plan aims to see 400,000 heat pumps installed in existing homes and up to 280,000 in new homes.
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