Low-temperature exothermic oxidation characteristics and spontaneous combustion risk of pulverised coal

•Explored the exothermic properties of pulverised coal in various oxygen concentrations.•Determined three stages of low-temperature oxidation of pulverised coal.•Investigated the inhibiting effect of low O2 concentrations on pulverised coal oxidation.•Proposed an index for evaluating the risk of pulverised coal spontaneous combustion.