On 10 May, for the first time almost anyone can remember, Mt Everest was visible from Kathmandu. From Chobar, Abhushan Gautam photographed the highest mountain in the world 200km away to the east, spotlit by the setting sun.
Last week from Sarlahi district in the plains bordering India, journalist Chandra Kishore could see right across Nepal to Mt Langtang on the Chinese border.
When the air is clear, Abhushan Gautam
With vehicles off the roads, factories closed, the air over Nepal was breathtakingly clean. Hospitals in Kathmandu Valley are usually crowded this time of the year with patients suffering respiratory illnesses aggravated by pollution and dust but in the past two months hospitals have registered a sharp drop in people seeking treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergies.
“Many of our COPD patients who need regular follow-up haven’t shown up because their symptoms have eased. Some have called to say they don’t require oxygen therapy anymore,” affirms Raju Pangeni, a pulmonary care specialist at HAMS Hospital.
The lockdown has led to a drastic drop in petroleum sales. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) records show that in the first week of the lockdown, sale of petrol nationwide dropped to 6%, although it has now climbed to 45% of pre-lockdown levels. The Sajha Pasal pump in Pulchok sold 241,000 litres of diesel in April, down from 609,000 in December.
“The reduction in diesel consumption certainly played a part in cleaning up the air,” explains Sushil Bhattarai of NOC. “But from December, we were already selling cleaner Euro 6 diesel emitting less SOx, NOx and soot. That is why stopping and fining dirty tail pipes is the best short-term solution to air pollution.”
However, despite the sharp reduction in fossil fuel consumption, Air Quality Index (AQI) in Kathmandu did not improve as much as expected in April-May. The reason was wildfires in Dhading, Nuwakot and Chitwan in early April. But even after the rains, open garbage burning in the Valley and crossborder pollution haze kept AQI at dangerous levels.
But vehicular emission is by far the biggest source of ambient air pollution in Kathmandu Valley, and according to one study accounted for as much as 70% of all particulate matter at street level. A 2017 survey by the Department of Environment states that PM10 from diesel vehicles alone contributed 34% of the air pollution.
The lockdown also improved the nation’s economic health, by cutting Nepal’s petroleum import bill In 2018/19, Nepal’s import of petroleum products was at Rs200 billion — 2.2 times higher than the country’s total income from exports. Despite the recent collapse of global oil prices, this saving will be wiped out by the growth in the import bill in future if nothing is done.
Switching to electric public transport and battery vehicles to reduce the petroleum import bill by just 10% would save Rs21 billion a year – besides promoting domestic clean energy from hydropower, and improving air quality.
“What we are experiencing during the lockdown is just a short reprieve it only went to prove that we can clean up Kathmandu if we want,” says climate change expert Manjeet Dhakal. “But for long-term results we need to push cleaner energy options in road transport and the COVID-19 has provided us the perfect opportunity to electrify transportation andrevive our economy.”
However, with the economy in deep crisis the government will be under pressure to look for short-term measures to revive the economy. The temptation will be strong to go back to business as usual.
This was shown by the traffic jams this week after lockdown rules were relaxed. And when it is lifted, environmentalists are concerned that fear of the virus will keep people away from public transport, which already suffers from a lack of priority that it deserves.
“But the crisis is also an opportunity to reform our public transport system: digitise and electrify it and restructure routes,” urges Bhushan Tuladhar, director of Sajha Yatayat. “The government can play more active role by coming up with functioning operational guidelines and provide financial help to promote electric transport. It will be really unfortunate to not have used this chance.”
With the collapse in tourism, remittances and tax revenue there is pressure on the Finance Ministry to balance the annual budget due later this month. There are reports the ministry is thinking of removing the tax rebate on electric vehicles, which would be two steps back for the economy, health and environment.
So, despite COVID-19 proving the benefits of reducing fossil fuel consumption, experts find it unlikely the government is going to change policy. The benefits of switching to cleaner energy are long-term, and the current economic crisis needs immediate solutions.
Before the lockdown, despite lack of infrastructure such as public charging stations, electric vehicles were making up 10% all of all new sales. The government should now be pushing ahead with electrifying public transport, to narrow the trade deficit, lower air pollution, reduce Nepal’s carbon footprint and protect public health.
As part of the Paris Agreement, Nepal will have to submit the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) later this year. Incentives on electric vehicles will need to be increased in line with our national commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as to reduce air pollution and protect public health.
Says Manjeet Dhakal: “The electric vehicle movement will go ahead whether the government wants it or not, but longer we delay incentives for renewable energy the more money we will waste and also damage public health.”
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Air pollution worsens COVID-19 impact
Following the outbreak of novel coronavirus in Wuhan in December 2019, a series of peer-reviewed and pre-print papers have been out. A common conclusion in all of the observations: there is a strong correlation between air pollution and the higher risk of COVID-19.
In a study scheduled to be published in the journal Science of The Total Environment on 20 July, Chinese scientists report a clear association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection. In particular, positive associations of PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2 and O3 has been established with COVID-19 confirmed cases in 120 cities from 23 January 23 to 29 February in China.
Can atmospheric pollution also increase SARS-CoV-2 lethality? Yes, say Italian researchers in a paper to be published in June in the journal Environmental Pollution. Another study conducted in Italy concludes that the long-term air-quality data significantly correlated with cases of Covid-19 in up to 71 Italian provinces providing evidence that chronic exposure to atmospheric contamination may help spread of the virus.
“We know air pollution leads to respiratory and cardiac diseases. And looking at the general trend of COVID-19, places with poor air quality seems to have higher coronavirus deaths,” says Raju Pangeni, pulmonary care specialist. “The association has been established but we also need causal link.”
Some pre-print studies have been shown direct link between poor air quality and the COVID-19 mortality.A group at the Harvard University has concluded that a small increase in long-term exposure to PM2.5 leads to large increase in the COVID-19 death rate. Another pre-print study revealed that 80% of coronavirus deaths across four countries (Spain, Italy, France and Germany) took place in the most polluted areas.
“The COVID-19 has revolutionised medical publications. Studies are now being published as pre-prints before being peer-reviewed that could take months whereas we also need immediate findings to help us better understand the novel coronavirus,” says Buddha Basnyat of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “These studies have however started important discussions that is a base for future research.”
Another pre-print study at the University of Bologna in Italy has found SARS-Cov-2 RNA on particulate matterin Bergamo, Northern Italy, suggesting that the virus could be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.Two more Italian research groups have also suggested that air pollution particles could help coronavirus travel further in the air.
Most of the COVID-19 cases that require ICU treatment have seen multiple organ failures, inflammatory syndrome and sudden death due to blood clotting, mainly in the elderly and children, the age-group most vulnerable to a possible flare up of the coronavirus infection post lockdown, when emissions from vehicles and industries will once again pollute the air, say experts.
Sonia Awale
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