KATHMANDU, April 16: Kathmandu Valley has become the first in the list of most polluted cities in the world in terms of air pollution. According to IQAir, an organization that measures the real-time pollution of 101 cities in the world, Kathmandu was found to be the most polluted city in the world on Saturday evening.
With 202 points in the Air Quality Index (AQI), Kathmandu was confirmed as the city with the most toxic air in the world on Saturday evening. In terms of pollution, after Kathmandu, New Delhi, Chiang Mai in Thailand, Hanoi in Vietnam, Bangkok in Thailand and Dhaka in Bangladesh are ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.
The level of air pollution is divided into different levels from 0 to 500 based on the impact of air pollution on public health, and the AQI of 201 to 300 has been given Kathmandu Valley a purple color. This is a very unhealthy level for human health. It is believed that the pollution has increased rapidly due to the fires in different parts of the country and the burning of agricultural residues during this season.
Combating air pollution in Kathmandu Valley
Kathmandu Valley has become the first in the list of most polluted cities in the world in terms of air pollution.
This level of pollution is considered very unhealthy for public health. Public health experts and air pollution experts have suggested that at least wearing a mask can avoid the effects in some ways. 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.
Last Thursday, the Department of Environment under the Ministry of Forestry and Environment said that the level of air pollution in Kathmandu Valley and the central and eastern parts of the country has increased due to local sources of pollution such as fires and burning of agricultural residues in more than 140 places across the country including Bara, Parsa, Chitwan.
This level of pollution is considered very unhealthy for public health. Public health experts and air pollution experts have suggested that at least wearing a mask can minimize the effects in some ways.
Due to air pollution, the number of patients with respiratory diseases, lung cancer as well as 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 percent of the total deaths due to air pollution were children under 5 years of age and 27 percent were of the age group above 70 years.
