Air Pollution in Nepal

Rapid mechanization and industrialization coupled with destruction of natural resources have jeopardized environmental quality. And Nepal is no longer exception for that. Amid stagnant growth in industrial sector, Nepal has witnessed tremendous progress in the field like Transportation and Communication.

It was only two decade back when having private vehicle used to be talk of town. Travelling in fuel-filled vehicles was considered luxury and Ox/He-Buffaloes cart used to be sole means of transportation. However, the situation is u-turned. Every home of cities have at least one motorbike and most of affluent family has car. The number is booming every second. While means of transportation have made life much easier, it has also welcomed uninvited guest ?The Air Pollution?. Not only vehicles, there has been industrial growth coupled with changed life style of Nepalese which are all ?empowering? air pollution.

Position of Nepal in World:

According to Yale?s 2014 Environment Performance Index, Nepal is ranked 177^th Country among 180 countries in terms of air quality. Not only in EPI, has Nepal continued to give dismal performance at overall rank as well. According to same report, Nepal was ranked 139 in 2014. EPI ranked Nepal at 149 position in 2016 for overall performance. Meanwhile, Nepal hold its position at 177 in 2016 as well. To rub salt in wound, Kathmandu the capital city of Nepal has been ranked as third most polluted cities of the whole world. This is clear indication of lack of co-ordination among concerned authorities and reckless from Policy maker in such sensitive issues and how much is there left to improve environmental quality of country.

Major Source of Air Pollution:

Rapid and unplanned urbanization of the cities, Population surge, changing lifestyle of people, boom in use of fossil fuel-fed vehicles, Seasonal Forest Fire, Mismanagement of waste, burning of tires, industrial growth, agriculture development, hazardous use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are most frequent source of air pollution

Components of Air Pollutants:

Level of small particulate can measure around 500 micro gram per cubic meter which is 20 times more than the level stated by WHO as harmful. In contrast to this, Paris banned cars at a level one fifth of what is common in Nepal. Sadly actual data about air pollution from concerned authorities remain unknown. Only speculations can be done in case of Nepal.

It?s believed and experienced ( personally) , concentration for particulate matter, dust, smoke, sooty along with diesel exhaust are above harmful level challenging health status of Nepali denizens. This are cause of respiratory disease and cancer.

Air Pollution as cause of disease:

According to news published in The Kathmandu Post, ?The particulate matter (PM 2.5) is considered one of the most harmful air pollutants that lodge into human lungs and blood tissues, increasing the chances of lung cancer and other life-threatening respiratory diseases, among others.?

 According to Kathmandu University Medical Journal, ?An analysis of hospital records from three major hospitals in Kathmandu indicates that the number of COPD patients admitted to hospitals has increased significantly in the last ten years. Hospital records indicate that the number of COPD patients is highest in the dry winter months when air pollution in Kathmandu is at its highest peak.?

Monitoring and Control Measure:

With the support from Danish Aid Agenc 6 stations were set up in Kathmandu valley between 2000-2003. Sadly these station has remained dysfunctional since 2007.

 As per the latest news in The Kathmandu Post ?According to Surendra Subedi, Deputy Director General at DoE, the government has allocated Rs 51 million to set up air quality monitoring stations in the Kathmandu Valley and various organizations like the Asian Development Bank and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development have agreed to support this year to monitor air quality. ?We plan to install 11 monitoring stations with nine in Kathmandu and two outside the Valleyone each in Lumbini and Chitwanto monitor trans-boundary pollution. This will take some time,? Subedi said.

This paragraph is the only hopeful statement from Government of Nepal as we citizen don?t even know what kind of air we are breathing.

My Opinion:

Air pollution in Nepal is sharp contrast to its natural beauty. Amid being bestowed with ubiquitous natural beauties and diversity richness, we are falling behind in controlling man-kind environment. Negligence from Government should not be tolerated and ad hoc methods are needed to control this situation. Else, Nepal will be known as country blanketed with dust, smoke and haze in near future. Air Pollution is possibly one of the way to mitigate various diseases.

Every time we travel for long distance, we experience few moment of black out because of the dust. We jokingly call it ?Nepali Powder? as our clothes gets total brown-white colored and faces are almost covered like ?face powder?. Not to mention hair getting dry and we choking this dust. Fruits sold at roadside are often covered by dust, green grapes, red apples, yellow banana or other fruits all appear whitish-brown in color as its layered with dust. Despite all these, I am hopeful we will re-evoke Nepal from polluted country to its orginal image of ?Pristine Beauty and Natural Wonders?.

Conclusion:

Nepal?s condition is  worsening in terms of air pollution. Extensive homework needs to be done. Knowing of quality of Air need to be established as Human/Consumer Right. Government of Nepal along with various organizations working in this field need to change their methods and work towards controlling pollution.

Remember, Paris banned cars when PM(2.5) reached 110 microgram per cubic meter but we are breathing air having concentration of 500 microgram per cubic meter.

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