India, Jan. 11 -- In the biting winter cold across North India, space heaters have emerged as "silent killers", with the latest case being reported from Punjab's Tarn Taran where a young couple and their month-old infant died of asphyxiation due to fumes after sleeping with a brazier in a room with all doors and windows closed.

Coal-based 'desi' heaters are not the only ones posing danger, though. People use various heating gadgets to brave the harsh winter, including electric ones, but this has led to deaths due to suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heater-related fires in a series of tragedies over the past month.

From the high-rises of Delhi to hamlets in Bihar and the valley of Kashmir, improper use of heaters and tradition...