In Nepal and Kathmandu the annual premature death due to air pollution hit 37,399 and 9943 respectively, according to a Republica news report published on 23 November 2019. Publisher: Kunda Dixit, Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu This is also indicated in maroon. Arjun Khadka, 65, who owns a grocery store in Kathmandu, said he experienced itching and burning sensations in the eyes and nose which could be due to pollution. Barun Poudel, a senior meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, says that the chances of pollution travelling as far north as Kathmandu from Indian cities are slim, but that Nepali cities bordering India have already seen some impacts. In Cities, Reducing Air Pollution Could Lower Cancer Rates At Similar In Nepal, 35,000 people die annually due to illnesses caused by polluted air. No: 289512/78/079 VAT No: 610271654 Editor Ashok Silwal Email nepalnamcha@gmail.com, Copyright 2023, , All Rights Reserved | Designed with. Basudev Paudel is in his late fifties and at his age, he believes that regular morning walks are important for keeping healthy. The government should really take a closer look at what their decision might lead the environment and the whole country to in the future. Double whammy: air pollution and Covid-19, Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA n the past eight months of this, ir quality across Nepal has been deteriorating over the years., The first step in reducing air pollution is to let. Top economies responsible for 2 million air pollution deaths worldwide - . Geyh-Bouwer Trainee Practice Award | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School Ever since the lockdown started in Nepal, there has been a . A Love Beyond Measure: The Unforgettable Reunion, , . In recent years, cities in the Tarai have become infamous for the poor quality of their air, mostly because of the heavy presence of industries, dust from construction, and also trans-boundary pollution. World news on global warming, climate change, wildlife, pollution, carbon business and climate politics. Implication of Air Pollution on Health Effects in Nepal: Lessons from Their effectiveness also varies depending on the work place, environment and fitting. We chartered a train to Glasgow for COP26 and took 500 people with us. Donate to The Ecologist and support high impact environmental journalism and analysis. Air pollution hits alarming levels in Nepal, schools closed The haze has become a part of our environment, impeding our view and lowering our visibility. Students participate in activities such as program evaluation and monitoring, public health surveillance, program development, risk assessments and analysis, development of policy briefs . Nepal is a landlocked nation with the current population of over 27 million people. Most make various performance claims based on lab tests but factors like the masks fit play important roles. Air quality in the capital has deteriorated recently but average pollution readings were not available. Air quality in the capital has deteriorated recently but average pollution readings were not available. Dust from construction works, exhaust from old, poorly maintained vehicles and smoke from coal-burning brick kilns blend in a murky haze that hangs over the ancient city of four million people, raising the risk of cancer, stroke, asthma and high blood pressure, experts say. The strategy guiding the work for The Ecologist for the years 2023 to 2026 has now been published. And even though the nature of pollution in New Delhi and Kathmandu is varied, Nepal needs to learn to deal with its own toxic air. There is a proportionately very high consumption of gasoline and diesel in the valley. Submissions Controlling tobacco in Nepal is already such a big challenge, butKathmandus degrading air quality has doubled the disease burden, says health activist Shanta Lall Mulmi. Therefore, it is advised that everyone should avoid all outdoor exertions. The rapid use of fossil fuels, increase in deforestation, unstable use of natural resources, overuse of pesticides and other chemicals, sewage and wastewater, nuclear waste, industrialization, urbanization, use of plastics and a lot more factors contribute to environmental pollution. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Department of Environments own measuring station in parts of Kathmandu showed the AQI staying above 400 all day on Monday. Advertisement Factors contributing to this level of pollution are local," said Shankar Prasad Paudel, information officer with the Department of Environment. AQ AirVisual, on Thursday, also ranked Kathmandu the ninth most polluted city in the world, with PM2.5 levels reaching 139 g/m3the level at which the air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups, as per the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality Index. It urges the polluters to pay for the damage done to the natural environment. Butair pollution issues are continue to increase. Required fields are marked *. Many scientists and environmental specialists all over the world have studied the harmful effect of plastic in detail and all of them are of the same view regarding the degree of harm they represent. Photo Courtesy: Department of Environment/Air Quality Montoring, A screenshot showing Air Quality Index (AQI) for various cities as measured at 9 am on Thursday, March 25, 2021. To The Editor The . Get access to nearly 50 years of journalism at the Ecologist Archive. But so far, the government has done almost nothing to control air pollution.. Hourly AQI data showed Simara's air quality as very hazardous at 8:00 am. The governments standard level is 40 micrograms per cubic metre. Ltd. Mhepi-16, Kathmandu, Nepal Company Reg. says that 100% of the population in India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels are higher than the WHO Air Quality Guideline. People must stay safe indoors and not come out except for emergencies, the health ministry said. I would be very thankful to you if you publish my article on your esteemed daily.Hope the government will take immediate action on this matter. Modern day Nepal is one of the most polluted and impoverished places in the world. The transport sector further contributes 30 percent of PM10 particles, which are smaller than a grain of sand and can easily pass through the hairs in our nose, second only to the construction sector, which emits 53 percent of the total PM10. US to tighten water regulations for meat processing plants New Delhis AQI levels, which have been consistently high all winter because of crop residue burning as well as vehicular and industrial pollution, got a respite on Monday because of rainfall. Ocean pollution poses a clear and present danger to human health and well-being, according to a new study from an international group of researchers. Air Pollution and Your Health - National Institute of Environmental The birds identified as having the disease, named . The average exposure for the officers was 51.2 g/m 3, with an hourly maximum of more than 500 g/m 3. Water Pollution Remains Top Environmental Concern in U.S. - Gallup.com We see fog in the morning and haze in the afternoon due to local dust pollution in the winter season.. Despite the fact that most people in our country are breathing the air with such perilous level pollution, we still lack the vigour to act responsibly against the situation. Nepal's Environment Protection Rules 2020 (2077) lists projects that need IEEs under Schedule 2, and those that need EIAs under Schedule 3. Write a newspaper article on environmental pollution in Nepal to be published in a newspaper. You can specify conditions of storing and accessing cookies in your browser, News article on environment pollutation in nepal to be published in newspaper, Describe a situation where you made a wrong decision and also explain how did you handle the situation?, Which one is the tallest tower in the world. Environmental Health issues are a not major risk factors for the Global Burden of Diseases. But public outrage does not seem to translate into action to clean up the air. Only a year ago, snow clad mountains shone brightly in the winter and we could see the mountains and hills clearly. Over the weekend, pollution levels hit their highest in the capital since the government began keeping records in 2016, government official Shankar Paudel told Reuters news agency. From his home in Kathmandus Chabahil, Basudevs walks take him around Pashupatinath Temple and the Guheshwori area. The World Air Quality Project's index stood at 515 at that time while that of the Department of Environment (DoE) stood at 490. A paper published in the December 2000 volume of the International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences on pollution in the Narayani placed the blame squarely on the Gorkha Brewery (and a paper mill that has since closed down) for much of the pollution in Nepal's third-largest river. At a time when KathmandusAQI was hitting record highs on Tuesday morningwith 438, the New Delhi suburb of Noida recorded less than 151 (AQI World map, below). As people fear another wave of Covid-19 a year after the government first imposed restrictions in the country, another health concern related to respiratory illnesses caused by toxins in the environment has come to the fore. Moreover, Kathmandu is ranked as one of the most polluted cities in Asia: according to the airvisual.com, Kathmandu is the seventh most polluted city. A recent study by scientists from Peking University (China) and the University of Connecticut (USA) [1] has revealed that 1 in 15 lost pregnancies in South Asia may be due to air . There are dozens of varieties of masks available in the market, along with air purifiers that cost more than Rs130,000. Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, has a population of around3.5 million. The COP27 sponsor's products were the most commonly found items by volunteers researching plastic pollution. Globally, air pollution results in around seven million deaths annually. The Geyh-Bouwer Trainee Practice Award recognizes students whose application of science demonstrates the betterment of the environment and/or public health. In terms of air pollution, the 2016 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranked Nepal 177th out of 180 countries. This can significantly affect the local environment and the health of people living nearby. For example, an EIA for a major highway would need . Use of pesticides and fertilizers must be controlled. We need to be extra careful because by the time we reach peak pollution levels, we will be gearing up to launch Visit Nepal 2020, said Tuladhar. One of those rivers is the Melamchi, about 25 . For many influencers across the political spectrum, claims about the environmental effects of the train derailment have gone far beyond known facts. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to update its water pollution rules for slaughterhouses for the first time in nearly 20 years, the agency announced on Wednesday, following a lawsuit from environmental groups arguing current standards are too weak, according to Reuters. If there is any health advisory from the government, our family will stop going on regular morning walks, said Sunil. Legal provisions should be made in order for people to manage solid wastes properly. Rapid and haphazard urbanisation in the last few decades has resulted in the degradation of the environment, predominantly in terms of air pollution. Coca-Cola is named world's worst plastic polluter for a fifth year. According to Tuladhar, New Delhi was able to immediately swing into action because it had an action plan to deal with the crisis. Says Pallavi Pant, air quality scientist at the Health Effects Institute: Exposures to air pollution have been shown to affect the human bodys immune defence, making an individual more susceptible to respiratory infections such as pneumonia., Editor Online: Sahina Shrestha | Executive Editor: Sonia Awale Poor air quality in Kathmandu and inside rural homes due to smoky kitchen fires kill far more people across South Asia than SARS-CoV-2. D espite public awareness and relentless media coverage, Kathmandu's air quality has worsened in the past two years. An article by three Brazilian researchers published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research aims to contribute to progress in this field by proposing a novel perspective on particle . A visit to East Palestine from the head of the E.P.A. Q : Only continent in the world without a desert is. There will be complications in irrigation facility, deforestation will take place and landslides may occur, the water resources will get soaked. International breweries are polluting Nepalese rivers Macrotech Developers Ltd. 997.35 152.6. All of these vehicles degrade the air quality byemitting huge quantitiesof smoke into the ambient environment. Air pollution is a chronic problem in the rapidly growing capital city of Kathmandu and an additional headache for the government that is struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic. "I don't remember this level of pollution in Kathmandu in the past," Khadka told Reuters. Letter to the editor of The Rising Nepal about the environmental The Kathmandu Post : Find the latest breaking news from Nepal, opinion & analysis on Nepali politics, business, culture & arts, sports, movies, food & travel, books, education, auto & more at kathmandupost.com Submissions hit their highest in the capital since the government began keeping records in 2016, government official Shankar Paudel told Reuters. Because Nepals national government and municipalities have done little to reduce risk, citizens have adopted their own methods of personal protection: wearing masks, installing air purifiers at home and office, cancelling morning walks, and monitoring air pollution levels on apps before allowing children to play outside. UNICEF, on Wednesday, issued a statement calling for urgent action to address this air quality crisis in South Asia. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The theme for World Environment Day (5 June) is #BeatAirPollution. I dont remember this level of pollution in Kathmandu in the past, Khadka told Reuters. ? Therefore, this study investigates the presence and abundance of microplastic in lake surface water . Non-smokers in Kathmandu are now suffering from diseases that you would expect to see afflicting chain smokers. Nepal has ordered schools to close for four days after air pollution climbed to hazardous levels, forcing millions of students to stay home across the country. 22 September 2021. More than 65% of all deaths due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) in 2019 were linked to air pollution in Nepal. Average life expectancy is reduced by at least four years in the worst-affected areas like Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan and other parts of the Tarai. Air pollution is a familiar environmental health hazard. Why this advert is dangerous to people and nature and shows advertising needs new controls. Adriana Paulo de Sousa Oliveira, Paula Assemany, Lidiane Covell, Maria Lcia Calijuri. While the quality of air in some of these places has degraded tremendously, air quality in other places is becoming increasingly unhealthy. Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking | Nepali Times This may collapse the whole ecosystem in general. put Kathmandus pollution level at 487 the highest among cities in the region. Ironically, World No Tobacco Day falls on 31 May, just four days ahead of Environment Day. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh recently concluded that surgical masks blocked 80% of particles sized 0.007 microns. A breakdown of whats known, and whats not, about the incident and its aftermath. Once again, Kathmandu breathes world's most polluted air, AQI hits 303. It was interesting to note that despite the manic traffic and lack of infrastructure many city roads were dirt tracks, with no traffic lights evident. This is a very unpleasant decision. Local pollution in Nepali border towns with high vehicular emissions and industrial pollution could increase due to pollution coming from across the border, he said. It is a major threat to global health and prosperity. Hundreds of thousands are sheltering in tents, breathing air thick with pollutants unleashed from tombs of rubble, fearful that a new disaster could strike at any moment. In 2013, a team of Cambridge University scientists were in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, developing a device to measure . There is a proportionately very high consumption of gasoline and diesel inthe valley. Q : Which one is the capital of Spain. That said, old diesel vehicles are contributing significantly to the poor air quality in the city. In addition, residential and commercial-scale solar electricity expenses have dropped from $0.52 to $0.16 and $0.40 to $0.11 per kilowatt-hour, respectively. Arjun Khadka, 65, who owns a grocery store in Kathmandu, said he experienced itching and burning sensations in the eyes and nose which could be due to pollution. One hour later, at 9:00 am, the air quality at Simara was recorded at 354; second on the list was Bhaisepati in Lalitpur at 196 and third was Dhagadhi at 195 (Department of Environment). US to Toughen Water Pollution Rules for Meat Plants Vehicular emissions or traffic related particulate matter has serious health effects such as increased respiratory disease, reduced lung function, asthma, cardiac arrhythmias, heart disease etc. Air pollution is also the main environmental risk factor for non-communicable diseases like cancers and lung diseases, concludes a recent report by the NCD Alliance and the Forum of International Respiratory Scientists: The challenge is great, but the cure is straight-forward it must be met by national, regional, local and personal responses. Research on microplastic concentration in aquatic environment is attracting scientists from developing countries, but in Nepal no information regarding microplastic in freshwater system is available. These two are just representative examples of millions of people who are directly or indirectly affected by dust,a burning issue ofthe twenty firstcentury. Health alert must be imposed on everyone as everybody is prone to experience more serious health effects. Take your pick, but remember the best thing is to reduce the source of pollution. AQI level between 0-50 is Good, 51-100 is Moderate, 101-150 is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 151-200 is Unhealthy, 201-300 is Very Unhealthy, and anything above 301 is regarded as Hazardous. What's in the Air of Nepal? Filling Gaps in Pollution Data Q : Emu bird is found in the country. Change to compound, We took a tour of the most amazing Chateau during our holiday, which we discovered . by accident.a. In Nepal and Kathmandu the annual premature death due to air pollution hit 37,399 and 9943 respectively, according to a Republica news report published on 23 November 2019. This means Kathmandus pollution has been 15 times higher than the WHO standard. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports fine particulate matter of up to 140 g m-3 - which is around ten times higher than the WHO limit. Thenumberofvehiclesin the valley during the last two decades has increasedninefold,and reached 922,900 in total during 2015, according to the Department of Transport Management inNepal. The company's plan to a second gas-fired power plant next to the existing one is being opposed by residents of the mainly minority and low-income communities around the plant who say an environmental justice law signed over two years ago by New Jersey Gov. Nepal closes schools as air pollution hits alarming levels - Al Jazeera There has also been a 25% increase in the number of vehicles on the roads. Air pollution is a chronic problem in the rapidly growing capital city of Kathmandu and an additional headache for the government that is struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Bhushan Tuladhar, an environmentalist who closely watches levels of air pollution in the country, agrees that there is a minimal chance of pollution from Delhi and northern India reaching Kathmandu, although cities in the Tarai are already dealing with poor air quality coming from across the border. In Chabahil, Sunil remains concerned for his fathers health, who continues to take his walk despite the morning haze. 1 ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NEPAL Prof. Dr. Meen B. Poudyal Chhetri a and Anil Shakyab a Disaster Preparedness Network, Kathmandu, Nepal b Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Government of Nepal ABSTRACT Environmental degradation is a very big problem in Nepal which is causing human health