Hertfordshire County Council has invested £162k in a national 'Clean Air Night' campaign, designed to highlight the risks of burning solid fuels.

Log burners and open fires may invoke a sense of cosy evenings-in, in the midst of a chilly winter, for many residents.

But the national Clean Air Night campaign – backed by the county council – aims to shine a light on the "uncomfortable truth" about wood burning.

Running for the second time this year, the campaign focusses on the impact of wood burning on health and the environment.

Burning wood, says the campaign, releases more carbon emissions than oil or gas for the same amount of heat or energy produced.

And the smoke, it says, contains fine particle air pollution (PM2.5), which enters the bloodstream when inhaled and can cause heart and lung disease, diabetes, and dementia.

According to a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council, last year the council put £162k towards the setting-up of the Clean Air Night campaign.

This year, they say, the same materials and 'toolkits' have been used again – so nothing further has been spent by the council in the current 2024/25 financial year.

Commenting on the campaign, a spokesperson for the county council said: "Clean Air Night is a nationwide campaign which focuses on raising awareness of the risk associated with solid fuel burning to enable people to make informed decisions about how to heat their home.

"Evidence shows that solid fuel burning can cause an increase in pollution within the home, something that we in Hertfordshire have monitored and can attest to.

"Exposure can lead to health issues such as respiratory issues and dementia. We know there is no safe level of air pollution, and that solid fuel burning is now the largest source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

"There are a range of specific messages that have been shared through the campaign that centre around solid fuel burning and raising awareness.

"We are pleased that the campaign has been delivered for a second year, made possible by external investment."

Officials at the county council say that in its first year, one in five local authorities across England disseminated the campaigns messaging.

And with pollution not recognising council boundaries, the council points to the impact of enabling the message to spread more widely.

"As the pollution created by wood burning can travel large distances and does not respect county lines, enabling the message to be promoted as widely as possible will help to promote a reduced burning future both inside our boundary but also outside of Hertfordshire, reducing pollution coming into the county from other areas and affecting the health of our residents," said the spokesperson.

At the heart of this year's campaign was Clean Air Night, on January 22.