Staying warm safely in winter: gas heaters, sandali and coal

Why it happens

Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced whenever fuel burns without enough air. It has no colour and no smell. In a room with closed doors and windows it builds up, and people who are asleep can die before they feel anything.

Reports show how often this happens here. Xinhua reported in December 2024 that at least 14 people had died from carbon monoxide in Kabul in two months, and in January 2026 that four students died from it in central Afghanistan. Reporting from Afghan and international media says the cause is usually gas or coal burned for heat in rooms with poor ventilation.

Where the danger is

• Gas heaters and gas stoves used to warm a room.
• Coal, charcoal and wood stoves with a bad chimney, or no chimney.
• The sandali. A sandali is a low table with a blanket over it and a brazier of charcoal under it. The Red Cross (ICRC) wrote that coal fumes cause breathing problems for the young and the old, and that children who snuggle too close under the blankets can suffocate. Charcoal is hard to afford for many families, and Afghan reporting in January 2026 says many use the sandali for only a few hours each night.

Six habits that lower the risk

1. Let in fresh air. Open a window a little, even in the cold. Never seal the room completely while a fire is burning.
2. Use a chimney that works. Fit the pipe so the smoke goes outside, and where a technician is available, have gas and coal appliances checked once a year.
3. Never use a gas oven or gas ring to heat a room, and never bring a charcoal burner or camp stove into a room where people will sleep.
4. Do not sleep beside a burning stove or under a sandali. Take the brazier out of the room, or out from under the table, before bed.
5. Put the coals under the table only when they are red hot, and never sleep with your head under the sandali blanket. This is the usual advice for the sandali.
6. Keep children away from the coals. Do not let small children lie or sleep under the sandali blanket, and watch their feet and hands for burns.

If you can get a carbon monoxide detector, choose one with a battery and fit it near where people sleep (CDC advice). A detector does not replace fresh air.

Signs that someone is poisoned

The first signs look like flu without a fever: headache, dizziness, weakness, feeling sick, shortness of breath. Later come confusion, vomiting, chest pain and fainting. If several people in a room feel unwell at the same time, suspect the stove first.

What to do

1. Get everyone out into fresh air at once, starting with anyone who is drowsy or unconscious. Open the doors and windows.
2. Call an ambulance on 102, or take the person to the nearest hospital straight away. The emergency numbers page lists the numbers. Do this even if they seem better.
3. Do not go back inside to switch off the stove until the room has been aired for some time.
4. Do not treat it at home. Only a clinic or hospital can check and give the right treatment.

Pass it on

Tell neighbours and relatives who heat one room with a stove. One changed habit can protect the whole household.