Busted: Article claims lighting diyas increases oxygen

NEW DELHI: In a now-deleted article titled Scientific-spiritual aspects of lighting a lamp, a Hindi news portal claimed that lighting diyas (earthen lamps) increased atmospheric oxygen. It listed other benefits of lighting diyas too. Scientists struck this story down stating that the claim that oxygen increases due to the lighting of diyas is false. It is common knowledge that the oxygen content in the environment is 21%. Whether it’s a diya or candle, oxygen is needed for combustion. The bi-product gases include carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas and is harmful to health.