Why it’s best to open your windows on December 25

WITH temperatures plunging, cracking open a window may be the last thing on your mind.

But festive chefs may be wise to brave the chill, as a study has found cooking Christmas dinner causes an annual peak in indoor pollution. Researchers analysed pollution levels for almost 4,000 households.

They looked at ‘large emission events’, where pollution particles called PM2.5 rose above 30 micrograms per cubic metre of air. Christmas Day had the most events at 0.31 per day per home,

‘Changes the air that we breathe’

according to the study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This was driven by cooking the big dinner.

World Health Organisation guidance says PM2.5 should not break an annual average of five micrograms per cubic metre of air. PM2.5 can be inhaled and evidence has linked it to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and respiratory illnesses.

Dr David Lunderberg, from the University of California, Berkeley, said: ‘As the winter months get colder... we spend more time at home – and this changes the air that we breathe.’