Air pollution up in Kathmandu Valley due to lack of adequate rainfall

Kathmandu, March 9: The sky of Kathmandu Valley is cloudy and air pollution has also increased due to lack of adequate rainfall.

Meteorologist Binu Maharjan told RSS that the rainfall could not take place due to the influence of the local wind and that of the western low pressure system.

"There has been snowfall and light rain in some parts of the country, but adequate rainfall has not occurred   to remove the air pollution. The weather will likely remain like this for three days more," she said.

Kathmandu ranked as the fifth most polluted city 

Until the filing of this report, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the Kathmandu Valley was 163, putting it as the fifth most polluted city in the world. 

As per the AQI chart, Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam was the most polluted with 210 AQI while Beijing of China in the second position with 184 followed by Dhaka of Bangladesh in the third with 175 and  New Delhi of India  in the fourth with  170. 

Amidst this, the Department of Environment has suggested the increased risk of air pollution till the month of Jeth (May-June). Smokes from industries, factories, motorcycles, construction sites, households, from the burning of waste in open and dust from the construction works are among the identified major sources for air pollution. 

Children, aged people, people with respiratory illness including asthma and heart diseases and expectant women are considered more vulnerable to the impact of air pollution. 

Disaster Management Expert Dr Dharmaraj Upreti said an AQI 0-50 is good for human health and indicated by green signal and it is suggested by yellow when it is measured 51-100 to urge us to remain alert to the situation. 

An AQI of 101 to 150 is indicated by orange and is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. It is capable of further impacting on people with breathing issues and heart diseases. 

Similarly, an AQI of 151 to 200 is considered unhealthy and is suggested by red and when it is in between 201 to 300 it is considered very unhealthy and it is hazardous when it exceeds 300. In this emergency condition, everyone is more likely to be affected.

Air Quality Management Action Plan-2076 BS for the Kathmandu Valley has also stated that a situation where the AQI value is higher than 300, it will be treated as a disaster.  (RSS)