Air pollution is a killing factor for health risk, shortening life span and eve death in Nepal. As such, air pollution must be brought into control which has been an agenda for experts, professionals and campaigners in every season to discuss, prepare solutions and declarations. Mostly human behaviours recommended to be environment friendly while government policy and actions are placed as most influential instrument to be implemented.
The Kathmandu Valley and the Terai are Nepal’s air pollution hotspots, with no significant improvement over the past decade. Air pollution reduces life expectancy by 3.4 years for the average Nepali and causes approximately 26,000 premature deaths annually. In addition to health, air pollution impacts labour productivity, tourism, and the aviation sector. Traditional use of biomass energy sources such as firewood, cattle dung and agricultural residues are the root cause of indoor air pollution. So as air pollution hit people get their life shorten. Mainly Terai residents face this slow poison effect. The economic cost of poor air quality is equivalent to more than 6 percent of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year, reports say.
The multi-sectoral and multi-regional nature of air pollution requires action on many fronts. Vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, household cooking, open air waste burnings, forests fires, trans-border pollutions are identified the main causes of worsening air pollution.
Notably, the air quality index (AQI) between 301 to 500 is categorised as hazardous, and in condition like this, all should avoid all outdoor physical activities while the sensitive people like old aged, kids and heart patient, and having respiratory diseases should remain indoor.
PM2.5 is one of the standards to measure air quality which takes stock of concentration of particulate matters 2.5 micrometres or smaller in the environment that can penetrate deep into the lungs even when one is wearing facial masks.
The air pollution generated in the valley itself and those entered through Badbahnjyang in the west and Katwaldaha in the south contribute accumulate the air to pollute, the researchers point out. The polluted air remains in the valley sky till is goes out by a push. The polluting air drives out through the eastern pass at Sanga on the way to Banepa where there is no accumulating topography.
The contributing pollutants may name more than a few but vehicle emission is dominating factor, industrial air pollution including brick kilns and dust of the roads are the following factors. The incoming air through western pass and southern pass also carry a lot of polluting factors produced by brick kilns and other industrial activities. They vent out not before after-noon.
Kathmandu Valley is not only the place which witness such hazardous air pollution situation but Lumbini, Pokhara, Janakpur, Biratnagar, Chitwan also face the same problem in painful levels.
In different occasions, experts in the environment and health sector mention on the need to tackle indoor air pollution as the death rate from it is current status.
In such a crucial context, promotion of electric vehicles for public transportation, discouraging and discarding smoke belching vehicles, strong law and orders to stop open air waste burning, encouraging cooking by electric devices, recommend people to avoid morning walk in the winter season should be taken as strong measures to stay safe from the toxic air pollution. Therefore, all three level of governments – federal, provincial and local – need to result orient actions. Mainly the local governments in the Kathmandu must be much sensitive over the health and wealth of the citizens and entire environmental conditions.
Promotion of electric vehicles, restriction of open burning by the KMC, pothole repairs on major roads are among the mitigation measures taken so far may be appreciable but these are too little against the gigantic size of problem.
Moreover, pollution created by industries and dust blowing by construction works should be brought into control. Research development and promotion of non-baked bricks, proper modification on fossil fuel vehicles and converting fuel into less polluting may be the points to consider. The planners, decision makers and implementing bodies and professionals must be serious on possible and available remedies for application without delay while research and development should be the priority.
The dimensions of the pollution scenario actually demand multiple interventions to minimise the risk. All possible means and measures should now be put together to awaken the state mechanism which has been deaf to such crucial issues. As such, the human right activists now need to be much serious as efforts of environment activists have been proved to be ‘not enough’. Concerned experts and activists have been stressing a number of measures to address the pollution relate issues. Despite intensified approaches the imminent mechanism has not been ready to implement the already committed work plans. Instead of the plans to give shape and size rapidly, the authorities are not much serious to well implement.
Hence, experts repeatedly stress that without coordination among all agencies concerned, there will be no relief from polluted air, especially during the winter and dry season.
