The moves reflect residents deep-seated mistrust of government screenings of toxic chemicals and fears of long-term effects from the train derailment. Air pollution is even more dangerous than previously thought, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned . Submissions Anupamaas Nidhi Shahs off-screen glam looks, Top 10 T'wood actresses of the 80s and 90s, Shraddha Das rocks the thigh-high slit trend, Live: PM addresses post-budget webinar on Green Growth, Oscars to have Crisis Team after Will Smith slapgate, Adani's older brother plays key role at embattled dynasty, Terms of Use and Grievance Redressal Policy. Most make various performance claims based on lab tests but factors like the masks fit play important roles. The government should really take a closer look at what their decision might lead the environment and the whole country to in the future. Air quality in the capital has deteriorated recently but average pollution readings were not available. 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. We can develop our own action plan to combat air pollution and also introduce other measures like enforcing green stickers for vehicles, among many others.. Kathmandu Valley has seen a rapid increase in vehicle numbers in the last 15 years. News from Indian environment including wildlife like tiger, lion, elephants. Under the US Clean Water Act, the EPA regulates wastewater discharge from meat and poultry plants into . And with reports of Indias north and its capital New Delhi struggling with extreme air pollution, Sunil wonders how much worse the air will get this winter. Q : Emu bird is found in the country. I have started wearing a mask whenever Im outdoors.. , , , , . According to AQ AirVisual, a Swiss group that collects air-quality data from around the world, the annual average PM2.5 level for Kathmandu in 2018 was 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3), an increase from 45.9 g/m3 in 2017. As the new year gets underway, the world continues to grapple with a number of familiar challenges - the continued COVID-19 pandemic, resurgent wildfires, enduring crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Measurement of air quality through the Air Quality Index (AQI) in city areas of the centralised valley, along with few areas of the Tarai region, shows that air pollution has become rampant. Kathmandu: 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. Though the readings slowly became less alarming after the morning hours, at 10:00 am and onwards, the readings for Simara was still lingering above 300; others (stations mentioned above) showed the index between 151 to 200. Even before Covid-19, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had warned that poor, in northern India and the Tarai was already the. The website is owned and published by The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity. In 2017, the Department of Environment had drafted an action plan to tackle the deteriorating quality of air in Kathmandu Valley. The 24-hour average level of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can reach deep . To receive the magazine, become a member now. D espite public awareness and relentless media coverage, Kathmandu's air quality has worsened in the past two years. Photo: Skanda Gautam/THT, A screenshot showing Air Quality Index (AQI) for various cities as measured at 8 am on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Because indoor air pollution levels are also high, ideally you would have to wear a mask 24 hours a day, says Pangeni. 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. 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. FEATURED FUNDS. Thanks for contacting us. No: 289512/78/079 VAT No: 610271654 Editor Ashok Silwal Email nepalnamcha@gmail.com, Copyright 2023, , All Rights Reserved | Designed with. Similarly, Dhangadhi was third in line to have the most degraded air quality among the list of stations measuring the AQI. Change to compound, We took a tour of the most amazing Chateau during our holiday, which we discovered . by accident.a. Air pollution regularly exceeds recommended safe levels. Or, download a free sample copy of a past issue of Resurgence & Ecologist. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause many of the health conditions associated with increased vulnerability to Covid-19, such as diabetes and chronic heart and lung diseases, said theState of Global Air 2020released last October. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. The size of dust particles are larger compared to biomass burning or vehicular emissions. of tens of millions of people by 3.7 years. 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 The entire population is more likely to be affected. The Art of Dealing with Breaking Up: Get over those blues and Take Break-Ups Lightly. The CPV power plant operates in Woodbridge N.J. on Feb. 27, 2023. This is a very great decision taken by the government. 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. 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. Macrotech Developers Ltd. 997.35 152.6. Nepal, especially Kathmandu, in the current situation, is observing rapid urbaniz 18/11/2022. SAMPLE 2. Looking at the air quality data over the last few years, it appears that Nepal made amarked improvement from 2018 to 2019, with a PM2.5 reading of 54.15 g/m beingrecorded as an average over 2018 as compared to 44.46 g/m in 2019. Submissions 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. Nepali lawmakers tend to shun study and researchwith rare exceptions, Healthy youth presence perks up Lumbini Provincial Assembly. 22 September 2021. A man performs morning workout with smog covering Kathmandu, Copyright 2023 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. The EPI recently found Nepal to have the worst air pollution in the world. According to the World Air Quality Report, Kathmandu is the seventh most polluted capital city in the world, based on its average yearly PM2.5 level. A breakdown of whats known, and whats not, about the incident and its aftermath. The leaves of plants are covered indust particles which limits the photosynthesis rate and affects the plants growth and natural beauty. According to Poudel, the pollution level in the border towns of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar can slightly influence pollution along the border area. This is also indicated in maroon. News from Indian environment including wildlife like tiger, lion, elephants. Nepal isn't short of water, thanks to the monsoon rains and the rivers that bring meltwater down from the Himalayan glaciers and snowpack. 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. A general view of a street during a smoggy day as the government has orderedschoolsto close for four days after the air pollution climbed to hazardous levels, forcing millions of students to stay home across the country, in Kathmandu, Nepal March 30, 2021. One of the cheapest energy sources. Nepal is not far behind with 98% of its people living in such areas. ? Due to the industrial revolution from the late 20th century the environment has been polluted to such an extent that now it has become a global issue. The government should ban the use of old vehicles. Education ministry spokesman Deepak Sharma said about eight million students have been affected by the closures. Globally, air pollution results in around seven million deaths annually. Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, has a population of around3.5 million. "I don't remember this level of pollution in Kathmandu in the past," Khadka told Reuters. The 24-hour average level of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can reach deep into the lungs, was 214 micrograms per cubic metre in the upscale area of Bhaisepati in Kathmandu on Sunday, Department of Environment data showed. In 2017, solar electricity costs dropped from $0.28 to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for utility-scale photovoltaic solar power. Required fields are marked *. Electrified public transport would have been a good place to start, but 6 months after Prime Minister KP Oli launched an electric mobility action plan to turn at least 20% of public vehicles into battery-operated ones by 2020, progress has been slow. Green sticker = green light to pollute, Sonam Choekyi Lama. Sunil Paudel, Basudevs son, stopped going on morning walks last year after learning that Kathmandus air quality was reaching unsafe levels. It has a negative impact on various environmental aspects which directly or indirectly affect the quality of human health. Southwesterly winds have carried in some clouds with dust particles, mainly in the western parts of Tarai districts like Kanchanpur, Banke and Bardiya, Poudel told the Post. PM2.5, or Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns thick, are among the most dangerous of air particles as they can get past the nose and throat to enter the lungs and even the bloodstream. Recently the government has decided that the plastics that are less than 40 microns will be banned from use from the month of Shrawan 2078. Plastic pollution in oceans and other bodies of water continues to grow sharply and could more than double by 2030, according to an assessment released on Thursday by the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP ). According to the 2017 Air Quality Management Action Plan for Kathmandu Valley, the transport sector contributes over 30 percent of total suspended particles (TSP), or 20,072 tonnes, into the air. Besides the quantity of fuel consumption, the poor road condition of older vehicles is triggering air quality problems in the valley. Sign up for our WEEKLY newsletters - and never miss out on the amazing news and comment articles we publish. 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. The air in Kathmandu, already dubbed one of the most polluted cities in the world, gets worse once the winter sets in. Rapid and haphazard urbanisation in the last few decades has resulted in the degradation of the environment, predominantly in terms of air pollution. Department of Environment on January 5 had released a statement mentioning about the change in weather condition in the country and increasing level of pollution in Kathmandu valley. But air pollution issues are continue to increase. 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. 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. New road Kathmandu. Basudev Paudel is in his late fifties and at his age, he believes that regular morning walks are important for keeping healthy. This also adds to the risk of COVID-19, said Sher Bahadur Pun, a doctor at a tropical and infectious disease hospital in the capital. The victims of air pollutionurgently requirean appropriate action plan for mitigating these problems. 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. Prices range from Rs10 to Rs10,500. Haze engulfs Kathmandu valley as the air pollution increases to unhealthy levels, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Why this advert is dangerous to people and nature and shows advertising needs new controls. The garbage should be properly disposed and managed. 2426/077-78 Adriana Paulo de Sousa Oliveira, Paula Assemany, Lidiane Covell, Maria Lcia Calijuri. About three months later, at the present time, the pollution seems to have worsened. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh recently concluded that surgical masks blocked 80% of particles sized 0.007 microns. This indicates, around a quarter of the total deaths due to air pollution in Nepal are in Kathmandu. There are cloth masks and surgical ones, some are disposable but many use replaceable filters. 2426/077-78 AQI is a composite measurement of the concentration of particulate matter below 10 and 2.5 microns, carbon monoxide, sulphur and nitrogen dioxide and ground ozone. 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. Kathmandu valley requireshalf of the total gasoline consumed in Nepal. It urges the polluters to pay for the damage done to the natural environment. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. and a White House pledge to lend more support were met with skepticism in the community. Collective action from many sectors is needed to assure that everyone can breathe clean air.. 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. Hourly AQI data showed Simara's air quality as very hazardous at 8:00 am. The environment has been in a better condition. Air quality in the capital has deteriorated recently but average pollution readings were not available. Nestled between China and India - two of the world's biggest polluters - Nepal often . Microplastics are man-made pollutants which have been detected in surface water and groundwater. Education ministry spokesman Deepak Sharma said about eight million students have been affected by the closures. This index is coloured red. 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. People must stay safe indoors and not come out except for emergencies, the health ministry said. Kathmandu valley requires half of the total gasoline consumed in Nepal. 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. Nepal is not far behind with 98% of its people living in such areas. In this level of air quality, everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. Nepal, with a population of 30 million people, is located in the Himalayas between China and India, two of the world's biggest polluters. Thefts of the pollution control devices from cars and trucks more than quadrupled from 3,389 in 2019 to 14,433 in 2020, and jumped dramatically again in 2021 . Officials at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu said poor visibility, which was down to 1,000 metres on Monday, widely disrupted flights. Last modified on Fri 3 Mar 2023 20.17 EST. The governments standard level is 40 micrograms per cubic metre. Yours sincerely, Rajesh. purely b. wisely c. competentlyd. In countries such as China, India and Nepal, air quality may have slightly improved in recent years, but the health risks due to PM2.5 haven't changed much, he said. The World Health Organisation ('WHO') has reported that PM2.5 levels of particulate matter in urban areas of Nepal . There is a proportionately very high consumption of gasoline and diesel in the valley. 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 a chronic problem in the rapidly growing capital city of Kathmandu and an additional headache for the government, which is struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Nifty-129.. NSE Gainer-Large Cap . editors@nepalitimes.com | www.nepalitimes.com | www.himalmedia.com | Tel: 01-5005602 One of those rivers is the Melamchi, about 25 . Atmospheric greenhouse gases reach record high, latest essay from our Megamorphosis series now. This company thinks bacteria can help fix fashion's water pollution problem. Other global AQI measurement sites likeIQAirput Kathmandus pollution level at 487 the highest among cities in the region. Air pollution is a chronic problem in . There will be very less production of crops and the economy of the whole country can go downhill by this negative decision made by the government. Photo Courtesy: Department of Environment/Air Quality Montoring, President candidate Poudel reaches RSP office seeking votes, US, Russia hold highest-level talks since Ukraine invasion, Scathing report on Nepal's security controls, In Pictures: Air Pollution continues its grip over Kathmandu Valley, China acknowledges Sino-Indian brawl at Galwan Valley from last year for the first time, Covid vaccination drive in Nepal could be affected with Indian govt halting AstraZeneca export. . Apex court orders acceptance of writ against PM, dubbed one of the most polluted cities in the world, air pollution levels reaching nearly 10 times healthy limits, 22 of the worlds most polluted cities in 2018, ranked Nepal the eighth most polluted country, PM2.5 level for Kathmandu in 2018 was 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3, deteriorating quality of air in Kathmandu Valley, Overextraction and shrinking open spaces cause groundwater depletion in Kathmandu Valley, As season of forest fires starts, authorities alert public to risks, History and politics of Nepals school education, Insurgency-era victims of sexual crimes still unheard. New Delhi has seen a sudden spike whereas Kathmandu witnesses a gradual increase in pollution level starting from November and reaching peak levels in January.. The same report ranked Nepal the eighth most polluted country in the world. Nearly two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, confusing messages from government officials have frayed locals trust. Q : Which country has the highest number of time zones. Publisher: Kunda Dixit, Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu The views expressed in the articles published on this site may not necessarily reflect those of the trust, its trustees or its staff. As reported by the World Bank, Nepal is one of the poorest nations in the world with an estimated GDP per capita of US$470. These two are just representative examples of millions of people who are directly or indirectly affected by dust, a burning issue of the twenty first century. Motorcycles and passenger vehicles such as jeeps, cars and vans accounted for 92 percent of total registered vehicles in Bagmati by the end of 2014-15. 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. All of these vehicles degrade the air quality by emitting huge quantities of smoke into the ambient environment. In 2000 / 2001 there were 24,003 vehicles registered in Kathmandu and this has increased dramatically to 79,822 in 2015 / 2016. The 24-hour average level of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can reach deep into the lungs, was 214 micrograms per cubic metre in the upscale area of Bhaisepati in Kathmandu on Sunday, Department of Environment data showed.That compares with the government's standard level of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. At a time when Kathmandus, AQI was hitting record highs on Tuesday morning, with 438, the New Delhi suburb of Noida recorded less than 151 (. The study sounds the alarm that the growing global problem, which scientists are only beginning to understand, requires urgent and immediate action. "Trans-boundary pollution can affect our air quality too as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, connected to Nepal, are also polluted. Efforts for improving air quality should be of utmost priority now so that safety of citizens' health can be ensured. hit their highest in the capital since the government began keeping records in 2016, government official Shankar Paudel told Reuters. There has also been a 25% increase in the number of vehicles on the roads. The high mountains around the Kathmandu valley allows air pollution to accumulate in the city. People must stay safe indoors and not come out except for emergencies, the health ministry said. This indicates, around a quarter of the total deaths due to air pollution in Nepal are in Kathmandu. The 3rd leading cause of death in low and middle-income countries is COPD, 5th leading cause is Lower Respiratory Infections and seventh is Diarrheal diseases. 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. Modern day Nepal is one of the most polluted and impoverished places in the world. The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that in polluted urban areas, reducing air pollution could do as much as completely eliminating smoking would to lower rates of the 12 types of cancer most commonly associated with smoking, including lung cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer . Factors contributing to this level of pollution are local," said Shankar Prasad Paudel, information officer with the Department of Environment. It is a major threat to global health and prosperity. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Senate voted Thursday to make it harder for thieves to sell stolen catalytic converters, a crime that has skyrocketed across the country in recent years. 21 October 2021 Climate and Environment. Environmental pollution is one of the greatest threats of the world today. 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. newspaper article on environmental pollution in nepal Posted by July 3, 2022 morenci area schools staff on newspaper article on environmental pollution in nepal The statement declared that the level of pollution in the valley is increasingly -- especially in the mornings and the evenings -- creating negative implications on people's health.

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