As forest fires continue to rage across the country, reducing visibility, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, has maintained its top 10 ranking on the list of the world’s most polluted cities.
Kathmandu ranked first on Sunday at noon, with the Air Quality Index surpassing the threshold of 190, according to IQ Air, an organisation that measures the pollution in real-time of 101 cities across the world. According to the US Embassy’s Phora Durbar air quality monitoring station, Kathmandu’s air quality index (AQI) exceeded the 200-point threshold, making it dangerous to breathe. The visibility of the bowl-shaped capital has deteriorated as the AQI continues to decline.
“Earlier days when I came here, I could see the Dharahara tower more clearly but now I have to search for it as the haze shrouds the capital. I have realized the extent of pollution that is in existence in Kathmandu Valley,” Ramesh Devkota, a resident of Kathmandu who came to the hillside temple of Aakash Bhairab told the media.
The smoke igniting from the burns flows in and dumps in the bowl-shaped valley since a week has shrouded the valley. Experts and doctors have suggested wearing a mask can minimize the effects in some ways.
The Ministry of Health and Population earlier week also advised the public to put on a face mask to mitigate the possible impact of air pollution. Due to this level of air pollution, especially children, the elderly, respiratory patients and heart patients are more affected, the Department of Environment has appealed to people of other age groups to take special precautions when going out.
Due to air pollution, the number of patients with respiratory diseases, lung cancer, heart disease, hypertension and stroke has increased in Nepal in recent years. Studies have shown that 42,000 people died in Nepal in 2019 due to indoor and outdoor air pollution, 19 per cent of the total deaths due to air pollution were children under 5 years of age and 27 per cent were of the age group above 70 years.
According to speculation, the country’s pollution levels have significantly risen as a result of recent fires in several regions and the burning of agricultural waste.
In general, Sunday domestic flights have been impacted by the rising levels of air pollution. Poor visibility prevented flights from reaching, among other places, Pokhara, Bharatpur, and Tumlingtar, according to the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Office.
Although flights could not be conducted to three destinations until now, they were operated to some destinations with the clearing up of the weather. The TIA Office said 115 flights have been scheduled in the domestic sector today.