<figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150240/63fe125c9c7e80680e0da51bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Brick kilns spewing smoke and steam in Bhaktapur on Tuesday morning. Photo: GOPEN RAI</figcaption></figure>Bhaktapur used to be a town where people from Kathmandu went to get away from it all, for a quieter place and fresh air.No more. Khwopa, as the historic town is known in Newa, has consistently recorded some of the worst air quality in Kathmandu Valley, outranking even the industrial belts of Biratnagar and Bhairawa.A recent Air Quality Index (AQI) measurement of 22 sites in Kathmandu Valley found Bhaktapur to have the most hazardous concentrations of suspended particles below 2.5 microns (PM2.5), aerosols and toxic gases. On 8 February, Madhyapur Thimi recorded the highest AQI at 310 closely followed by Duwakot at 296 and Sallaghari at 279. Changunarayan registered 234, Tathali 234 and Ghyakhel 246.Elsewhere in Kathmandu on that day, the AQI count was still dirty at 181, but much lower than Bhaktapur. Pokhara recorded 143, Birganj 131, Chitwan 69, Nepalganj 71, Biratnagar 85 and Hetauda 81 on 8 February.The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers AQI up to 50 to be good, up to 100 as medium, 100-150 bad, 151-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/high-and-dry/">High and dry</a>, Ramesh KumarAs for the PM2.5, the WHO maintains that concentration has to be below 25µg/m³ to be healthy for humans. But even in mid-February with winter almost over, the PM2.5 in Bhaktapur on 21 February was 25 times higher than the WHO annual air quality guideline value.“During winter, the inversion phenomenon traps polluted air at ground level,” says pollution specialist Bhupendra Das. “It is still winter and the fact that there has been no rain has meant that Bhaktapur’s pollution has nowhere to go.”Indeed, much of Nepal has not had any rainfall since mid-October 2022. Kathmandu valley alone should get about 95mm of rain between mid-October to mid-February but this dry spell has meant that there has been no precipitation to wash down the pollutants. Smoke from early wildfires across the country has added to the problem.But the reasons why Bhaktapur has the worst air quality has more to do with prevailing winds blowing all of Kathmandu's vehicular emissions and other pollutants to the eastern rim of the Valley where it is blocked by the hills.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hefty-fines-fail-to-deter-polluting-vehicles/">Hefty fines fail to deter polluting vehicles</a>, Sushila Buhathoki <figure><img width="1133" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150240/63fe125f9c7e80680e0da51cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In addition, most of the Valley’s brick kilns have relocated to the outskirts of Bhaktapur where they spew out black smoke from coal and other fuel into the already polluted air.Says Regina Maskey of the Central Department of Environment at Tribhuvan University: “The prevailing westerlies are transported over Bhaktapur, where they are trapped.”Dirty air consists of several different types of pollutants including particulate matter made up of smoke, soot, dust, and poisonous gases like carbon monoxide and ozone from two-wheelers. Then there is open burning of agricultural residue and garbage.On top of all this, there is the cross-border pollution from the north Indian plains which researchers say can constitute up to 40% of the pollution in Kathmandu Valley in winter.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-toxic-trash/">Kathmandu’s toxic trash</a>, Sonia AwaleBut brick kilns are perhaps the biggest culprits for Bhaktapur. There are 60 registered brick kilns in the town, with 40 of them currently operating. Most of them are right outside the densely populated old town.After nearly three years of stoppage due to the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent decline in construction, the kilns are back in operation to fulfil pent-up demand. Only a few kilns have begun to replace coal with less polluting biomass pellets because of coal prices going up after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Ultimately, there is no alternative but to opt for alternatives to fired bricks like cement blocks or compressed stabilised earth bricks (CSEB). Stricter control of polluting diesel buses and trucks entering and exiting the Valley through the busy Sanga pass and a conversion to electric public transport would also help.Reducing Nepal's petroleum import from India by only 10% will save us more than Rs30 billion a year. This money along with a seizable pollution tax in our reserves can help incentivise electric mass transit for Nepal, if there was a political will to do so.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepalis-do-not-have-to-breathe-dirty-air/">Nepalis do not have to breathe dirty air</a>, Shreesha Nankhwa <figure><img width="2048" height="1366" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150240/63fe12629c7e80680e0da51djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Worsening air pollution also has consequences on visibility. All of February, the air quality in Kathmandu Valley has been so bad that flights into the airport have had to hold for landing clearance, leading to delays.“Lack of visibility has made it difficult for flights, which is a serious problem,” says Das, adding that while new technology has been adopted to reduce the smoke, there has been no innovation to remove sulphur dioxide emissions from low-grade coal used in brick kilns.Given the hazardous levels of air pollution in the cities, the government back in 2020 issued the Air Quality Management Action Plan for Kathmandu Valley with a provision for a state of emergency to be declared when the AQI exceeds 300. But AQI exceeds 300 most mornings in Bhaktapur with no action from either the national government or the municipality.Research has shown that the average life expectancy of Kathmandu Valley residents has been reduced by four years due to air pollution. The figure is 7 years for people living in the Tarai across the Indian border.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/solution-to-pollution/">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha GurungIn 2019, 17,800 deaths in Nepal were attributed to PM2.5 by the State of Global Air report. From 2010-2019, nearly 150,000 lives have been lost across the country due to respiratory ailments caused by worsening air pollution.Air pollution causes a wide range of chronic health problems including but not limited to heart attack, cardiac arrest, pneumonia, bronchitis, lung cancer, breathlessness, diabetes, mental health disorders and congenital issues.According to the WHO, more people have lost their lives to air pollution than the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed over 6.7 million people globally since 2020. Comparatively, air pollution killed 9 million people in just one year in 2019. And yet, there is not much effort into reducing the impact of air pollution or serious measures to reduce the emissions and save millions of lives.The report also stated that the concentration of PM2.5 in Nepal was as high as that in Indian cities which often make it to the most polluted list. Kathmandu and Tarai cities often make it to the list too. What is surprising is that Bhaktapur municipality has been a stronghold of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party which has been known for good governance, and for service delivery in education and health.It is time the federal and provincial governments worked with Kathmandu Valley mayors to clean up at least the vehicular emissions and open garbage burning that is disproportionately affecting Bhaktapur. And Bhaktapur itself could ban brick kilns so close to its town centre.  Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/">WARNING: Breathing is hazardous to health</a>, Sonia Awale

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Why is the air in Bhaktapur so bad?

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a0db9c7e80680e0d7056jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>From 2 December to 5 January the Department of Environment conducted surprise checks of 581 vehicles in Kathmandu Valley to test their emission. The results were not surprising.More than one-third of the vans, buses, two-wheelers and cars failed the test. They were emitting smoke and toxic gases above the safe threshold. The worst were school buses, micros, taxis, water tankers, and government vehicles.Even more surprising: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/">some of them had green stickers on</a> their windshields to prove they had passed emissions tests. After that spot check, the Department has announced a new fine of up to Rs5,000 for drivers of polluting vehciles.Earlier, it had identified vehicular emissions and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-toxic-trash/">open burning are among the primary agents</a> of air pollution in Kathmandu – which has one of the worst air of any city in the world.If the vehicles owners still fail emission tests after necessary repairs, they can be fined up to Rs100,000 as per the Environment Protection Act, 2019.“At the moment, we have not imposed high fines on vehicles that cause pollution," says Saloja Adhikari, Information officer of the Environment Department. “We are enforcing stricter rules on re-inspection of those that have failed the emission tests and those that are being driven without necessary repairs."Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/">Green sticker = green light to pollute</a>, Sonam Choekyi LamaShe adds, "Rather than what vehicles cause more pollution, the important thing to realise is that often one can easily repair their vehicle for the cost of the fine. This is to encourage vehicle owners to service their vehicles rather than to fine them outright.”The number of two and four-wheelers in Kathmandu valley now exceeds 1.2 million. Last year alone, 1.8 million vehicles were registered in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Transport. These vehicles produce urban pollutants such as Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) that highly reacts with other gases to form toxic ground-level Ozone (O3).  Motorcycles also emit other gases such as Carbon monoxide (CO) that convert atmospheric oxygen to Ozone.In addition, vehicles, open burning, brick kilns, factories and machineries release the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">harmful particulates measuring 2.5μm or less</a> (PM2.5) into the air.According to the State of Global Air, PM2.5 has caused the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">death of as many as 17,900 people in Nepal</a> in 2019 alone and more than 145,000 people of all ages and gender between 2010 and 2019.There have been repeated attempts to use Euro 6-grade oil according to the European emission standards to reduce pollution from vehicles, but the increased price of oil and coal in the international market has circulated low-grade coal that emits toxic fumes like sulfur dioxide (SO₂).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a0df9c7e80680e0d7057jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="786"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Up to 50% of vehicles in the valley are of Euro 1 grade and emit more fumes than the prescribed standard,” says pollution expert Bhupendra Das.Namraj Ghimire, director general of the Department of Environment notes that the department has been paying extra attention to smoke emitted from a vehicle and open garbage burning this winter, since the brick kilns have not been operating. It has been coordinating with the Kathmandu Metropolitan and the Traffic Police to prevent pollution from burning garbage in open areas.Yet, there has not been much progress in controlling the risk factors of air pollution, even from the department. Even though the Rs35 emission test is mentioned on its charter, there has been no publicity effort to take this information to vehicle owners. Further, vehicles that have come to get embossed number plates can be found emitting pollutants right on its premises.On the other hand, Nepal has committed to replacing 25% of fuel-operating private vehicles and 20% of public vehicles with electric vehicles by 2025. But no program has been introduced to replace or discourage petrol and diesel vehicles, install charging stations, and build infrastructure for environment-friendly transports like bicycles.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">Breathing can kill</a>, Sonia AwaleExperts say Nepal needs a sustained and holistic long-term approach to control transport pollution, and create new markets for renewable and efficient fuels, through interventions from politicians and bureaucrats for actual progress. The burden of air pollution is so high, that continuous action to reduce emissions at the source can only create a change.Yet, on top of buying Green Stickers over the counter through bribes and middlemen, many owners and drivers continue to operate their vehicles without necessary reconditioning, despite the warnings, and pay the Rs5000 fine, while the annual emission test costs only Rs35.“Although vehicle smoke is visible, car owners do not regularly maintain their vehicles,” explains Regina Maskey, Head of the Environment Central Department at Tribhuvan University. “This includes government vehicles as well. They do not know that without regular repairs, vehicle parts will deteriorate and cost more to fix later.”Regular servicing can reduce 30% of smoke emitted from a vehicle, however, that does not seem to be the priority for Nepal’s vehicle owners.Translated from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/133987">Himal Khabar original</a> by Aria Parasai.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-toxic-trash/">Kathmandu's toxic trash</a>, Sonia Awale

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Hefty fines fail to deter polluting vehicles

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ffe9c7e80680e0d7018jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"/><figcaption>All Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>All things considered, living in Kathmandu has been unusually pleasant this winter. The temperature has been relatively mild, visibility has not been too bad, and there are majestic views of Himalayan peaks to the north.Records show that even the air is relatively cleaner than previous winters when the Air Quality Index (AQI), sometimes, was as bad as 700 — 14 times higher than the WHO standard. Brick kilns are not operating, no major construction projects are starting soon due to the economic slump, and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfire season</a> has not yet started in earnest.But we should not be fooled by all this. Hospitals in Kathmandu have seen a sharp increase in patients visiting for respiratory ailments this winter, even though Covid-19 cases are negligible.“From regular cold, cough and wheezing, to bronchitis, asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD], we are seeing a marked increase in patients, primarily because of Kathmandu’s dry, cold and polluted air,” says pulmonary specialist at HAMS hospital, Raju Pangeni.He adds: “Children and elderly are at most risk, and I advise everyone to try not to undertake any activities that will worsen air quality or avoid those that will expose them to bad air.”Indeed, while AQI reading in Kathmandu is nowhere near breaking records, it exceeded the 200 mark some mornings this week in parts of the Valley. This is considered unhealthy for all populations. The air quality is much worse in Tarai towns bordering India because of transboundary pollution, local industrial emissions, as well as the thick and persistent fog that engulfed the Indo-Gangetic plains all week.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-smoke-without-fire-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Open burning of waste</a> is one of the biggest sources of air pollution in Kathmandu in winter. During bitingly cold winter mornings, people huddle around garbage fires in street corners that give off carcinogenic gases like dioxin and carbon monoxide.A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32628470/#article-details" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2020 regional study</a> found ‘that garbage burning emissions could increase PM2.5 concentrations by nearly 30% in India and Nepal, and result in some 300,000 premature deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the two countries.’According to another <a href="https://old.risingnepaldaily.com/main-news/open-trash-burning-polluting-valley-environment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2020 research by Kathmandu University</a>, some 9% of the capital’s waste is burned, adding to its hazardous levels of pollution. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956053X18304963" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tribhuvan University survey in 2016</a> said that open burning in Nepal was three times as high as government estimates.“Compared to some of the other sources, the total contribution of garbage burning to levels of air pollutants is less well-understood but it is an important contributor, especially in urban areas,” says Pallavi Pant of the Health Effects Institute, a Boston-based non-profit specialising in research on the health effects of air pollution.She adds: “Open burning of waste can also contribute to ozone formation, and is a source of benzene, a cancer-causing compound. Recent studies in South Asian countries have included garbage burning as an important source of fine particulate matter or PM2.5.”Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WARNING: Breathing is hazardous to health</a>, Sonia Awale<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0029c7e80680e0d7019jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="986"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kathmandu and major urban centres in Nepal are seeing a worrying rise in the prevalence of non-communicable and chronic diseases, which in turn is making Nepalis poorer because they have to pay expensive medical bills. While there are multiple factors involved, exposure to carcinogens is one big risk.“By burning garbage we are not only inhaling toxins but contaminating our water resources and, in turn, our very food system. So without us ever knowing or even getting directly involved, carcinogens enter our lives often causing irreparable damage,” warns Raju Pangeni. “No wonder people who have never smoked are getting cancers or individuals with no family history of chronic illnesses are getting sick.”The irony here is that putting a stop to open garbage burning could be one of the easier things the Valley’s municipalities could do — instead of going after sidewalk vegetable vendors.“Our research over the past decade has shown that up to a quarter of winter-time air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley is from open burning of garbage,” explains atmospheric scientist Arnico Pandey who is now a central committee member of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the fourth largest party in Parliament and whose chair Rabi Lamichhane is the Home Minister.“This is a very low-hanging fruit to improve air quality … municipalities are empowered to stop garbage burning, but have shown very little interest to date. Stopping it would require both punitive action by the city police as well as better managed and predictably scheduled garbage pick-up services.”In November 2022, Kathmandu Metropolitan City banned open burning of waste. Back in 2018, the Supreme Court also prohibited open burning in the Valley. And yet, burning continues — another manifestation of the chronic implementation failure from which Nepal suffers.A blanket ban alone is not a solution. It is equally important to educate people about the dangers of burning trash and provide them with a better municipal waste disposal system.“The issue of garbage burning is complex, especially because it can be very widespread, and trends can vary significantly from location to location,” adds Pallavi Pant. “Similar to residential use of biomass, charcoal, dung, etc. as a cooking fuel, it is also important to consider socio-economic factors that prompt people to burn garbage.”Garbage burning in winter to keep oneself warm is tied to the  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-still-dying-of-cold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">economic status of people</a>. The very fact that Nepal witnesses hundreds of deaths every winter because of cold is proof enough that structural changes are required, not just a piecemeal approach.Says environmental activist Bhushan Tuladhar: “A ban on garbage burning is a good start but we need a sustained and strategic campaign to phase it out, backed by effective implementation of policies, public awareness and cleaner, healthier alternatives.”Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-smoke-without-fire-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">No smoke without fire in Kathmandu</a>, Tom Robertson<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0069c7e80680e0d701ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><h3>Garbage in garbage out</h3>Kathmandu Valley generates over 1,200 tonnes of solid waste every day. Of this, nearly 75% ends up in the landfill site in Nuwakot, while the rest is burned, left in open spaces, or dumped into the Bagmati.Municipal waste is an ecosystem of its own with perishables and non-biodegradable garbage often mixed together because of a lack of segregation. They can contain food items, plastics and paper, to metals and construction materials.When burned, plastics release toxic gases, like dioxins, furans (C4H4O), mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. Even a plain sheet of paper often contains chlorine which when burned also gives off dioxin associated with cancers and congenital defects.Similarly, dry ink in books and newspapers generates lead which in any amount is harmful to children and their mental growth. Burning heavy metals like cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) all produce carcinogens, while burning wood emits carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx).Solid waste management is becoming a huge concern for Kathmandu residents. The lack of a reliable municipal system has left people to fend for themselves, and most do not even segregate waste. Mayor Balen Shah’s announcement last year that he would mandate segregation of waste has been all but forgotten.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a00a9c7e80680e0d701bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="258" height="708">Even before segregating waste, Kathmandu residents could reduce, recycle and turn much of the household garbage into compost. Studies have revealed that Kathmandu’s waste can be reduced by as high as 80% if proper segregation, reuse and recycling were in place.

Sonia Awale

Kathmandu's toxic trash

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234c69c7e80680e0c4951jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1272"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>Two studies published this week show that the air in Kathmandu is even more hazardous to health than previous research showed because of high concentrations of toxic gases, leading to premature deaths from lung diseases.Dirty air is reducing the lifespan of Nepalis by nearly 7 years in the Tarai, by 3 years in Kathmandu Valley, and Nepal has the highest lung disease death rate in the world, new research papers warn. Another study points to very high concentrations of poisonous nitrous oxides as well as tiny suspended particulates, due to the increase of vehicles in Kathmandu Valley.Released on 17 August, A State of Global Air Report 2022 zeroes in on two main urban pollutants in over 7,000 cities around the world — particles measuring 2.5μm or less (PM2.5), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). While Kathmandu is surprisingly not on the list of top 20 most polluted cities, the study shows that the Valley has seen a dangerous increase in the concentration of both pollutants since 2000.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/things-are-up-in-the-air-in-nepal/">Things are up in the air in Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234cc9c7e80680e0c4952jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Kathmandu does not feature among the cities with the highest PM2.5 levels, but average annual exposures to these dangerously small particles are higher than the WHO Air Quality Guidelines, and even the least stringent interim target of 35 µg/m3,” explains Pallavi Pant of Health Effects Institute which collaborated with Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation for the annual pollution study. Household fires, brick kilns, open garbage burning and diesel vehicles are primary sources of PM2.5.Nitrogen dioxide, on the other hand, is a key marker of traffic-related air pollution and is abundant in urban areas like Kathmandu. Nitrogen dioxide belongs to a group of highly reactive nitrogen oxides (NOX) which combine with other gases to form toxic ozone (O3).“NO2 is a pollutant most closely associated with vehicular traffic, and in Kathmandu the concentration of this gas is higher than other cities in the region like Karachi, Dhaka and Delhi,” warns Pant. “The data indicates the need for continued action to reduce emissions at source."Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/solution-to-pollution/">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha Gurung<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234cf9c7e80680e0c4953jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1553" height="704">Indeed, a 2016 study by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies found that the emission of oxides of nitrogen have increased significantly in Nepal in the last decade, and is second only to carbon monoxide (CO).Another paper in 2017 by a Yale research group led by Anobha Gurung observed high levels of NO2 with an annual average 22.1 ppb (parts per billion) in 2014. By comparison, it was only 10.7 ppb in a highly polluted city like Ulaanbaatar.Atmospheric scientist-turned-politician Arnico Panday, however, says the data for NO2 for the last 20 years are not based on surface measurements, and extrapolate  satellite data which could make them less accurate.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27563&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking</a>, Sonia Awale<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234d29c7e80680e0c4954jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">“While they do show an increasing trend, the reported levels are far below levels that have health impacts,” Panday told Nepali Times. “That said, NO2, along with its sibling nitric oxide does play a significant role in the chemistry of ozone, a gas that impacts lungs and leaves, and that has increased in Nepal, especially during the spring months.”Vehicular pollution has long been identified as one of the major sources of air pollution in Kathmandu. But while diesel buses and trucks emit CO2, carbon monoxide and tiny soot particles, the contribution of two-wheelers has been overlooked.Motorcycles and scooters are considered less polluting because their petrol internal-combustion engines are very efficient in converting fuel to energy. However, their exhausts give off harmful pollutants like hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. This is not a problem if there are only a few two-wheelers around, but the number of motorcycles and scooters in Kathmandu Valley now exceeds 1.2 million.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/">Poisoning the air we breathe</a>, Sonia Awale<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234d69c7e80680e0c4955jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234da9c7e80680e0c4956jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">“Two-wheelers, in general, emit PM2.5, black carbon, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. Two-wheelers with older, two-stroke engines can be an important source of air pollution,” explains Pant. Motorcycles also emit other harmful gases including carbon monoxide (CO) and convert atmospheric oxygen into toxic ozone (O3).Siva Praveen Puppala, an aerosol scientist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) says motorcyclists alone cannot be blamed if other forms of public transport are not reliable. He says, “Unless we come up with cleaner alternatives for them, like an efficient mass transit, we are also at fault.”These poisonous gases and suspended particulates together have increased the prevalence of respiratory ailments among Nepalis. A study published in the medical journal BMJ this week revealed that in 2019 Nepal recorded the highest age-adjusted death rate due to chronic lung diseases in the world at 182.5 per 100,000 population.Over 3,000 years were lost to ill health or disability from the condition, with nearly all cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) being environmental in origin, according to lead author Jay Kaufman of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University in Montréal.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/">Nepal lockdown proves air quality can be improved</a>, Sonia Awale<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234dd9c7e80680e0c4957jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234e19c7e80680e0c4958jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The Nepal Burden of Disease 2019 report by the Nepal Health Research Council also shows that chronic respiratory diseases are the biggest killers in the country, making up over 20% of all deaths, behind only cardiovascular ailments.“We have enough evidence to prove that air pollution is leading to a sharp increase in respiratory ailments and yet not much has been done to control this major risk factor,” says Raju Pangeni, a pulmonary specialist at HAMS hospital in Kathmandu.“Perhaps because its impact is not easily visible much like that of the climate crisis, we are paralysed into inaction. But the burden of outdoor air pollution is so high that an individual alone can’t do much, we need politicians and bureaucrats to intervene for an actual change,” Pangeni adds.According to the Air Quality Life Index, an initiative of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, Nepal is the third most polluted country in the world with all of its 30 million population living in areas where the average particulate matter concentration exceeds the WHO threshold of 5μg/m³.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/">How weather elevates air pollution in Kathmandu</a>, Jagdishwor Karmacharya and Shanti kandel<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234e49c7e80680e0c4959jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="980" height="758">‘Measured in terms of life expectancy, particulate pollution is the greatest threat to human health in Nepal, reducing life expectancy by 4.1 years on average,” the report says. ‘Child and maternal malnutrition reduce average life expectancy by about 1.3 years, while smoking reduces life expectancy by about 2.5 years on average. In Kathmandu, residents are on track to lose 3 years on average.’Safety measures against Covid-19 such as masking up and avoiding crowded spaces are also effective in preventing a majority of respiratory diseases. There is also an increased level of awareness following the pandemic about the timely diagnosis which has made treatment manageable.Lesser known risk factors like the burning of incense sticks or being around funeral pyres, which can equal to smoking 100 cigarettes a day, should also be communicated. Experts say that the most dangerous pollutant in Nepal are suspended particles smaller than 2.5 microns that are given off indoors from fireplaces, vehicles, brick kilns and open garbage burning. All these interventions need political will and an implementation strategy.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/polluted-politics/">Polluted politics</a>, Editorial<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234e79c7e80680e0c495ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1041" height="640">Kathmandu’s deadly air pollution should not just be seen as an environmental hazard, but an indication of political failure. Which is why it is encouraging that Nepal’s foremost atmospheric scientist, Arnico Panday is standing for federal elections in November from Lalitpur-3.He has made the reduction of air pollution his highest priority along with climate adaptation, transport safety, heritage conservation, domestic job creation, and access to high quality education and healthcare.Said Panday: “If elected, in the first year I plan to empower and incentivise local governments to crack down on polluters within their jurisdictions, create an entity to fight forest fires from the ground and the air, and introduce a comprehensive clean air act that will bring Nepal’s air quality within WHO guidelines by 2030.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil Chitrakar

WARNING: Breathing is hazardous to health

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412118/6372226e9c7e80680e0c02f6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1776" height="1000"/><figcaption>Soot and dust particles from pollution that settle on the Khumbu Glacier makes it melt faster. Photo: EELUM DIXIT.</figcaption></figure>Fine suspended particles in the air have reached harmful levels, and are reducing the average lifespan of people in urban Nepal by at least two years. Now, scientists have found that pollution is also causing Himalayan glaciers to melt faster than earlier thought.The role of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/things-are-up-in-the-air-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dust particles</a> is said to be an important driver in reducing the reflectivity of snow and ice, so that they absorb more sunlight and melt faster. And there is more dust blowing into the mountains because of desertification, changing agricultural practices, intense storms, and dust being blown off mountain slopes that have lost snow cover.‘Because a majority of (Himalayan) snowmelt is generated from seasonal snowpack below 5,000m, dust deposition via elevated aerosol levels can cause a large snow surface albedo reduction and influence snowmelt,’ notes a new study in the science journal Nature. ‘Moreover, the influence of dust on snow darkening is greater than that of black carbon above 4,000m.’<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412118/637222719c7e80680e0c02f7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Greenhouse gas buildup in the atmosphere is set to raise global average temperatures by at least 2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050, and this is still the main reason Nepal’s glaciers are receding and shrinking. But controlling soot particles and reducing dust in the air could slow the process.The Nature study found that black carbon particles have a larger snow albedo darkening effect than dust because it is darker. But dust contributes more to melting because there is up to 1,000 times more of it than soot.“Temperatures are increasing faster in the Himalaya, this makes weather conditions more unstable prompting long distance transport of dust and other particles more likely,” explains climate scientist Binod Pokharel. The new study now confirms that the role of dust deposit in melting Himalayan ice is greater than previously thought.Now that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-disaster-lessons-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monsoon is here</a>, people in Kathmandu Valley find it easier to breathe since the air quality index (AQI) is better. But vehicular emissions and brick kiln smoke keep the concentration of suspended soot particles in the air at unhealthy levels.Dirtier air increases the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, bronchitis, stroke, mental retardation and congenital heart defects. Particles less than 2.5 microns are especially dangerous because they can cross the air-blood barrier in the lung capillaries.Previous studies on Langtang Glacier showed that while global warming was still the main cause of melting, up to 20% of the defrosting was due to snow darkening because of soot deposition.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412118/637222749c7e80680e0c02f8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="644" height="376"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/it-is-getting-hotter-on-the-roof-of-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalaya is already warming</a> up to 0.7°C faster than the global average, and these suspended particles are increasing the rate of melting. What is new in the research is that dust particles are more responsible than black carbon from pollution simply because there is more of it.Black carbon in soot from diesel exhaust, thermal power plants, brick kilns and wildfires are transported by wind to glaciers and snowfields, darkening them and making them absorb more sunlight.Now, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate change</a> is triggering more intense sand and dust storms and prevailing winds during the pre-monsoon and carrying them over long distances to deposit them in the high Himalaya.But it is not only the origin of dust but the concentration and composition of the pollutant that makes a difference on how it adds to the climate crisis, says meteorologist Namindra Dahal.For example, suspended particles over cities in India and China have greater inorganic fossil fuel components, while dust being blown in from the Arabian desert have more mineral content. Prevailing winds are from the west for nine months in a year, and blow in sand and soot from West Asia and India to Nepal.Studies have shown that water in Nepal’s lakes and rivers at higher elevations already have greater concentrations of dust and carbon particles.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412118/637222769c7e80680e0c02f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="644" height="412"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“In the past, the air was clean but its composition has changed over the years and that has become a matter of concern due to suspended particles it constitutes, including dust,” explains Dahal. “And all this <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-doubles-its-carbon-footprint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pollution</a> ultimately ends up in the Himalaya, making it melt even faster.”At the current rate of melting, and if nothing is done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, two-thirds of Himalayan ice will be gone by the turn of the century, studies have forecast.This week, Nepal’s delegation at the UN Climate Conference in Bonn once again urged the developed world to address loss and damage caused by the climate crisis, help the country adapt to extreme weather and prevent <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glacial lake outburst floods</a>.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412118/637222789c7e80680e0c02fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>However, Nepal must also show a commitment to reducing the increased amount of suspended soot and dust in the air — not just to slow melting of the mountains but also to lessen public health risk. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Respiratory problems</a> caused by air pollution alone killed nearly 45,000 people in Nepal in 2019.Switching to electric public transport and battery-powered two-wheelers would not just clean up the air, but also use surplus hydropower and reduce Nepal’s petroleum import bill.While much of air pollution is indeed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-transboundary-haze-affects-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">transboundary in nature</a>, but increasingly it is local emissions that worsen the impact on public health and make glaciers melt faster.Says Namindra Dahal: “Just look at our roads, the dust is killing people and it is killing the mountains. Unless we do our part we have no moral right to demand compensation on the global stage.”

Dirty snow defrosts Nepal’s mountains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209bc9c7e80680e0b555djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Everyone in Kathmandu knows we <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">breathe some of the dirtiest air</a> in the world. As if we needed any more proof, a new study uses technology developed during the Cold War to analyse radioactive particles to pinpoint where the pollution is coming from.In the first week of November in 2020, the concentration of PM2.5 in Kathmandu’s air doubled in a matter of a few days. A Nepali Times pollution monitoring project measured an Air Quality Index (AQI) as bad as 430 at its peak.Satellite images showed blue smoke from Pakistan and India’s Punjab and Haryana blanketing the Indo-Gangetic plains and Nepal’s Tarai and moving up the Himalayan valleys. Farmers were burning post-harvest biomass, and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-transboundary-haze-affects-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">link between the two was obvious</a>.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209be9c7e80680e0b555ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1876" height="1018"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Now, international researchers have used a technology originally developed by the US military to locate Soviet atomic tests by analysing tiny particles in the air blown across the Pacific by prevailing winds.The model is now used widely for real-time wildfire smoke detection and forecasting, and to study stationary sources of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.Satellite-based sensors showed that the smoke was from more than 3,000 active fires in Punjab and Haryana, its plume <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">transported by prevailing winds</a> to the foothills of the Himalaya and up to Kathmandu Valley.“It was not just the open burning in Haryana and Punjab but also weather conditions that allowed for aerosols concentrated in the southern plains to be transported to Kathmandu and higher elevations,” says climate scientist Binod Pokharel, one of the authors of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1309104221003329?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the recent paper</a> in the journal Atmospheric Pollution Research.The team consisting mainly of Nepali scientists deployed the tongue-twistingly named Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), a computer model that computes air parcel trajectories to determine how far and in what direction pollutants will travel.“Our main objective was to start a multilateral dialogue between countries in the region because while local solutions are important, air pollution is also a transboundary problem and needs committed leaders working together to develop and implement policies prioritising air pollution and mitigate its impact on public health,” adds Pokharel, who is Associate Professor at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209c29c7e80680e0b555fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Lack of real-time data at ground level and different elevations due to a limited number of functioning air monitoring stations has been a major hurdle for scientists who have had to rely only on modelling. For example, air pollution in Kathmandu peaked again in March 2021 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/wildfires-in-nepal-cause-air-quality-to-plummet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reaching AQI over 600</a> after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unprecedented wildfires</a> raged across Nepal following winter drought.Another recently-published research confirmed that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vehicular emissions are a major source</a> of air pollution in Kathmandu Valley, and old buses and poorly maintained vehicles make it worse.Researchers conducted composite measurements of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulphur, nitrogen dioxide and ozone and built a comprehensive diesel vehicle emission inventory of Nepal from 1989 to 2018.Published in the journal Science of the Total Environment the researchers found diesel consumption in Nepal increased 13-fold during the study period, and concluded that fuel quality and poor engine maintenance were the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721076178?dgcid=author&amp;fbclid=IwAR3sMSNAiVv0NUa6xcRhZPNOnWVxM2LZXrYHrPzdjmaOqm08s8EMuV44uTc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">main culprits for pollution</a>.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209c59c7e80680e0b5560jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We found that regular servicing and maintenance of vehicles can reduce pollution by up to 60% and this figure is even higher at 90% for petrol-run automobiles,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-scrap-old-diesel-vehicles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bhupendra Das</a>, lead author and researcher at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany.“But the real solution lies in finding the political will to replace fossil fuel vehicles with electric ones, and introducing Euro 6 vehicles, most of all we need to revise and update our transport policies,” says Das, who is also associated with Tribhuvan University.All this is not just bad news for public health and the global climate, but the soot particles called <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19368" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘black carbon’</a> are also carried up to the mountains where they are deposited on the ice and snow, making them absorb more sunlight and melt faster.Nepal has pledged that at least 25% of all private passenger car sales and 20% of public transport vehicles will be battery-powered by 2025, but government policy does not reflect this. Presently, while private electric SUVs get a tax rebate, it is diesel buses that are subsidised, while <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-goes-electric-but-conditions-apply/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electric ones cost five times more</a> because of high customs duty and other taxes.Both India and China have committed to only manufacturing battery-operated vehicles from 2030. The world has now moved on to the possibility of zero-emission with hydrogen fuel, but Nepal’s policies do not reflect its Glasgow goals.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209c89c7e80680e0b5561jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="517" height="540"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As a result, air pollution in Nepal’s cities is getting worse and is a leading cause of asthma, high blood pressure, lung inflammation, congenital disabilities, mental disorders, various cancers and allergic hypersensitivity. Air pollution was the direct cause of 42,100 deaths across the country in 2019, and is <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/air-pollution-decreases-life-span,3999" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reducing the average lifespan</a> of people by at least four years.A United Nations report this week stated that pollution and toxic substances <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/pollution-causing-more-deaths-than-covid-action-needed-says-un-expert-2022-02-15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cause 9 million premature deaths annually</a>, much more than the Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed 5.8 million lives in the last two years.‘Current approaches to managing the risks posed by pollution and toxic substances are clearly failing, resulting in widespread violations of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,’ states the report to be presented at a forthcoming meeting of the UN Human Rights Council.Worldwide and in Nepal, state priorities in favour of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-struggles-to-balance-nature-and-industry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">revenue and industry over the health</a> of citizens is the main reason for worsening pollution. Only urgent policy level interventions can set things right, and for that there needs to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/happy-new-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">public pressure on candidates</a> for local and national governments during this year’s elections in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209ca9c7e80680e0b5562jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="677" height="380"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>A <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/political-power-of-the-ballot-local-elections-nepal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survey in this paper ahead of the 2017 elections</a> showed ‘air pollution’ topping the list of concerns of Kathmandu citizens — even ahead of water supply, health, education and inflation (see graph above). Air pollution in Kathmandu has gotten much worse since then.Says researcher Bhupendra Das: “Air pollution is no more a mere environmental and health crisis, it is a political issue and must be treated as such.”

Things are up in the air in Nepal

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203aa9c7e80680e0b281djpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Morning rush hour at the congested Koteswor intersection in Kathmandu. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The rapidly deteriorating air quality in Nepal demands an overhaul of its over a quarter million diesel-powered buses and trucks as well as a drastic revision of the country’s vehicles mass emission standards, says a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721076178?dgcid=author&amp;fbclid=IwAR3sMSNAiVv0NUa6xcRhZPNOnWVxM2LZXrYHrPzdjmaOqm08s8EMuV44uTc">new study</a>.On the morning of 5 January, the capital, Kathmandu, registered 438 on the <a href="https://aqicn.org/city/kathmandu/">Air Quality Index</a> (AQI)  — 12 times more than the WHO’s suggested maximum limit of 35. The composite measurement takes into account particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulphur, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.“Using experiment-based emission factors measured on the roadside, we were able to build a comprehensive diesel vehicle emission inventory for the country covering the period from 1989 to 2018,” says Bhupendra Das, lead author and researcher at the <a href="https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en">Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies</a>, in Potsdam, Germany, and at <a href="https://tribhuvan-university.edu.np/">Tribhuvan University</a>, Kathmandu.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">Breathing can kill you</a>, Sonia Awale During that period, Nepal’s diesel consumption in the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/enterprise/transport/">transport</a> sector went up 13 times to 892,770 kilolitres annually, according to the study published online last month in Science of the Total Environment.In building an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">emissions</a> inventory for Kathmandu, Das and his team encountered large uncertainties due to differing emission factors based on vehicle category, fuel quality and maintenance. “We took into account factors like total distance travelled, fuel consumed, mileage, driving conditions, climatic factors, load and the age of the diesel-powered vehicles that were studied,” he says.The team focused on four major pollutants — carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, black carbon and PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns). The researchers found most diesel-powered buses and other <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/nepali-times-search/?q=public+transport" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">public transport vehicles</a> deployed in Kathmandu are old and poorly maintained. Low vehicle speeds, below 20 kilometres per hour, old vehicles with high mileage, the narrow and hilly roads of the Kathmandu Valley, and poor fuel quality were significant contributors to carbon monoxide and other pollutants.Read also: <a style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/happy-new-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Happy New Air</a>, Sonia Awale Fuel quality tests showed that 80% of the diesel sampled exceeded the sulphur limits of 350 milligrams per litre as laid down by the public sector <a href="http://noc.org.np/">Nepal Oil Corporation</a>.<a href="https://www.hnbgu.ac.in/sites/default/files/2020-09/alok%20gautam.pdf">Alok Sagar Gautam</a>, assistant professor at the physics department of the <a href="https://www.hnbgu.ac.in/">HNB Garhwal University</a> in Uttarakhand state, India, says that while landlocked Nepal imports diesel and other petroleum products from India, “the origins of sulphur and other contaminants in retail fuel are totally different in India and Nepal”.India has ordered the scrapping of all diesel vehicles older than 10 years from the start of the year. Such a drastic move may be difficult for Nepal to follow. But Das suggests a lowering of the present upper limit of 20 years to 15 with emphasis on strict monitoring of older vehicles for emissions.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/">How weather elevates air pollution in Kathmandu</a>, Jagdishwor Karmacharya and Shanti Kandel“Because this study covers both the historical emission factors as well as recent ones, it is valuable for the development of an emission inventory for India and other countries in the South Asia region,” says Gautam. “What is needed is a scaled-up project covering the whole region.”Previous studies, such as one <a href="https://aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-19-03-achr-0159">published in 2020</a> in Aerosol and Atmospheric Chemistry, had also shown that poor quality fuel, high traffic congestion, old and poorly maintained diesel vehicles were responsible for a large increase in transport-related emissions in recent years.The 2020 study found that timely servicing and maintenance of diesel vehicles could lower black carbon emission by 1.4 times and PM 2.5 by almost three times. It recommended a <a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/governance/policy/">policy</a> of mandatory, routine maintenance of the diesel fleet to systematically reduce emissions in the Kathmandu Valley.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-road-to-electric-transportation-in-nepal/">The road to electric transportation in Nepal</a>, Diya RijalDas suggests a different approach, however. “The present scenario in Kathmandu and in the rest of Nepal demands practical, cost-effective solutions to quickly cut emissions. These could start with repair and maintenance of roads, improvement of fuel quality and switching the ageing diesel fleet to at least Euro IV standards.”Nepal’s nationally determined contribution submitted to the <a href="https://www.unfccc.int/">UN Framework Convention on Climate Change</a> envisages promotion of advanced, electric, hybrid, hydrogen-powered, and other types of vehicles running on clean fuels. By 2025 at least 25% of all private passenger vehicles sales and 20% of all public transport vehicles will be electric-powered, the commitments say.“The concept of <a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/environment/climate-change/">climate</a>-resilient economic growth through an improved transport sector is being taken seriously,” adds Das. “It is now inescapable that highly <a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/environment/pollution/">polluting</a> and obsolete transport vehicles burning diesel be phased out through scrappage policies that involve compensations or other schemes with incentives for vehicle owners.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/">Cleaner air with greener buses</a>, Bhushan TuladharThis piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Asia &amp; Pacific desk.

‘Nepal must scrap old diesel vehicles’

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202fc9c7e80680e0b27e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption>Vehicles are one of the biggest emitters of PM2.5 and other pollutants in Kathmandu. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>It is that time of the year again when smog makes <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s air hazardous to health</a>. Hospitals are swamped not with Covid, but COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).Once more, there is a flurry of media headlines about the dangerous concentration of suspended particles smaller than 2.5 microns from diesel exhaust.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/happy-new-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Happy New Air</a>, Sonia AwalePublic awareness about air pollution is at an all-time high, the average life expectancy of Kathmandu’s residents is reduced by at least four years. Yet, nothing happens. Why?“The awareness and knowledge have not translated into corrective action,” explains environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar. “We know about vehicle emission tests but we ignore it, open burning is bad but we don’t stop, we have the opportunity to reduce air pollution with electric mass transport but we don’t invest in it.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203009c7e80680e0b27e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Air pollution was directly linked to at least 42,100 deaths in Nepal in 2019. Almost half of that was due to breathing in particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter which can cross the air blood barrier in the lung capillaries. Most of those particles come from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vehicle emission</a>.From 1990 to 2015, the number of vehicless in Nepal grew by 1,995,404 — most of them in Kathmandu Valley. In five years, that figure doubled to 3,987,267.This figure doesn’t include the exploding demand for cars and motorcycles after the end of the Covid second wave in mid-2021. Nepal spent Rs543 billion in importing vehicles, transport equipment and spare parts in four months from mid-July to mid-October, against Rs357 billion and Rs418 billion for the same periods in 2020 and 2019.“There has been an unexpectedly high demand for private vehicles in Nepal after the pandemic, especially two wheelers given the public’s hesitancy to use buses due to coronavirus fears,” says Dhruba Thapa of the National Automotive Dealers Association.<iframe style="border: none;" title="Total vehicles in Nepal" src="https://e.infogram.com/e0cdbfd0-0b3c-4f57-851e-7aced6e69116?src=embed" width="700" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com/e0cdbfd0-0b3c-4f57-851e-7aced6e69116" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Total vehicles in Nepal</a><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Infogram</a>Raju Chettri, CEO of the MAW Enterprises that imports Yamaha bikes in Nepal has a similar observation. He saw a decline in the annual sales of two wheelers from about 250,000 units to 190,000 right after the pandemic. But this year, the sales went up to 350,000 units.“There are two reasons behind this: pent-up demand and reduced use of public transport because of Covid fears,” Chettri says.There are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 3.1 million two-wheeers in Nepal</a>, over one million of them in Kathmandu. They are adding to the capital’s foul air, as they are up to 10 times more polluting per passenger kilometre than buses and cars.<iframe style="border: none;" title="Total Motorbikes in Nepal" src="https://e.infogram.com/ea449cd7-2598-4cd4-8ae2-cd91858f9553?src=embed" width="700" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com/ea449cd7-2598-4cd4-8ae2-cd91858f9553" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Total Motorbikes in Nepal</a><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Infogram</a>Two-wheelers also emit invisible toxic gases like carbon monoxide, benzene and nitrous oxides, and increase the concentration of street-level ozone. Motorcycle exhaust may not be as visible as diesel exhaust, but they are highly poisonous — especially when there are so many of them. Besides exacerbating respiratory diseases, the gases are carcinogenic, causing cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s.The solution is to shift rapidly to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-electric-transport-future-is-here/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cleaner electric vehicles</a>, not just for healthier air but also to meet Nepal’s net-zero pledge in Glasgow and to reduce the country’s burgeoning petroleum import bill.“The priority has to be on electric public transport and supporting infrastructure,” says environmentalist Tuladhar. “Electric buses are more expensive than diesel ones, so the government has to help with capital, and better manage Kathmandu’s public transport.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203039c7e80680e0b27e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This week, Nepal opened its first electric charging station powered by solar panels for the Lumbini Development Trust. Similar charging stations can be set up for public and private vehicles in existing bus parks across Nepal and along highways. Sajha Yatayat which is procuring 40 electric buses is also trying to turn the former trolley bus terminal into a charging station.Shilshila Acharya of the Avni Center for Sustainability agrees that the priority should be on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electrifying public transport</a> and encouraging bicycle lanes. She says, “Replacing cars with more cars even if electric only promotes consumerism. We have to give people reliable alternatives.”Kathmandu Valley Air Quality Management Action Plan held its first implementation committee meeting this week, during which it discussed lunching of a USAID-funded project for air pollution and a forecasting system with technical support from ICIMOD.“The problem of air pollution will take some time to be solved but we have started our homework,” says Indu Joshi of the Department of Environment. “At the moment, our biggest challenge is controlling open burning.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203069c7e80680e0b27e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2625"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Apart from transport, garbage burning and biomass fuel for household heating and cooking are also contributors to Kathmandu’s dirty air. The problem is made worse in winter due to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Valley’s topography that traps surface pollution</a> in an inversion layer.Improper <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/a-load-of-rubbish-kathmandus-garbage-problem,4039" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solid waste management in Kathmandu</a> means locals burn garbage by the riverbanks near residential areas — while, as studies show, segregation of waste at homes can reduce the city’s garbage volume by up to 80%.There is no other problem that is so directly linked with the health and economy of the country as urban air pollution. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 lockdown in 2020</a> is proof that Kathmandu can be cleaned up, it just needs <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dirty-politics-dirty-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the right leadership and the political will</a> to back it up.Says Shilashila Acharya: “Our policies on mobility and air pollution have to be people- and culture-centric, instead of focusing only on technology. We must build public pressure to force the politicians into action.”A public opinion poll in this paper just before the 2017 elections showed that a majority of Nepalis were concerned about the health impact of pollution. Since 2022 will be dominated by campaigning for the next election, this could be turned into the main criteria for candidates to win votes.

Breathing can kill you

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f909c7e80680e0af470jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2625"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>On Thursday morning, Nepali Times photographer Amit Machamasi was greeted with a shocking sight when he drove up to Nagarkot to take pictures of overnight snowfall. Below him, dozens of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2498#.Yc5xVy2B2t8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">brick kilns</a> were spewing out smoke and steam into the city’s air (photo).The rain had washed down suspended particles, but the brick kilns were pumping more smoke into the air we breathe. There have been attempts to relocate brick kilns away from the densely-populated capital, but political patronage means owners are still fouling the air.After the 2015 earthquake damaged most of the Valley’s brick factories, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/brick-factories-still-using-old-polluting-technology,2078" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">some adopted cleaner technology</a> to reduce emissions. Public pressure and urban growth then pushed most brick factories to the city’s fringes, and they are now  concentrated around Bhaktapur – most of those in the photograph are traditional dirty chimneys.After two years of forced closure during the pandemic, the brick kilns are once more working overtime to fill a backlog of demand from builders. But with politicians bogged down in power struggles, local leaders are too distracted to address the pandemic and pollution crises – both of which affect the human respiratory system.In a public opinion poll in this newspaper just before the 2017 elections, most respondents said <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dirty-politics-dirty-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> topped their list of concerns. Pollution has gotten worse since then, but it is unlikely that dirty air will figure in election speeches in 2022.“We have cleaner options like <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/earth-bricks-for-cleaner-and-healthier-kathmandu,4161" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interlocking earth bricks</a>, so we just need public pressure to make it an election issue,” says environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar.A pre-pandemic research showed that 40% of suspended particulates in Kathmandu’s air was from brick kilns, 30% from vehicular emissions, and 20% from open burning of trash and biomass. With the exponential increase in cars and motorcycles, the concentration of vehicular pollution at street level is now 70%.“<a style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hazardous pollution levels</a> in winter have become the norm, yet the government is not doing much to control it,” says Shilshila Acharya of the Avni Centre for Sustainability. “The public should demand action from our leaders.”Although public awareness about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> is at an all time high, it has not translated into action by municipalities or the federal government – even though in a democracy elections would be the way to force accountability from public officials.Says Tuladhar: “Campaigning in 2022 for elections, particularly for local government, will give us a platform to build political will to reduce air pollution. People have to be outraged, and the good news is that we have some young and educated leaders taking the lead.”In 2019, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> resulted in the deaths of 42,100 Nepalis, according to one research. Many more were indirectly affected. Vehicular emission, garbage and agricultural residue burning and brick kilns were the main sources of toxic ambient air.Besides shifting to cleaner and greener brick-making technology, controlling garbage burning, and a rapid transition to electric vehicles with government investment in electric mass transit, would be steps that would quickly improve air quality in Kathmandu.Air pollution is leading to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/double-whammy-air-pollution-and-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">premature death of Kathmandu’s citizens</a>. It has a huge impact on the economy. The solution is political, and elected officials need to respond to the crisis.Adds Shilshila Acharya: “Politicians as always are big on promises but we demand that they first protect our health by cleaning up the air we breathe. It is a basic right guaranteed by the Constitution. Don't talk about more grandiose plans, just clean up our air first.”

Happy New Air

<figure><img width="1440" height="928" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d145f9c7e80680e0a9973jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RUPA JOSHI</figcaption></figure>With domestic and international flights now near pre-Covid levels, and the onset of winter means Kathmandu airport is once more living up to its reputation for congestion and flight delays.In the past week, heavy industrial pollution and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-transboundary-haze-affects-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smoke haze from crop fires</a> in India have increased <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> and reduced visibility in Kathmandu Valley. Combined with the capital’s increasing vehicular emissions and winter inversion, the pollution is trapped at ground level reducing visibility at the airport.The direct impact of this is on flights in and out of Kathmandu, which with its single runway was already operating at maximum capacity even before the pandemic.“Passengers arrive at the airport at the stipulated time, but because of<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-jam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> the congestion</a> caused by poor visibility, they have to wait for hours because of delayed flights, it is not within the control of the operators,” says Dipendra Karna of Buddha Air, Nepal’s largest domestic airline.Karna pinpoints the main reason for delays as air traffic congestion caused by visibility below minimum at Kathmandu airport, and because under Instrument Flying Rules (IFR) the runway can take only one landing every 7 minutes.Under IFR conditions, flights can only land from the south, and the taxiway does not extend to the end of the runway, leading to added delays also for departures. Both international and domestic flights have to hold sometimes for hours to wait for their turn to land or takeoff at Kathmandu, burning expensive fuel.Many international flights in winter end up diverting to Lucknow, Kolkata or Delhi because of the lack of alternative airports for big jets in Nepal.  This situation could improve with the new Pokhara and Lumbini airports coming into operation next year.As winter sets in, airports in the Tarai like Biratnagar, Bhairawa and Nepalganj also face visibility issues because of the Indo-Gangetic smog, which has been getting worse every year. Delays in the mornings then snowball into longer delays by afternoon, and cancellations of many flights. Some airports like Pokhara and remote area airfields also have the additional limitation of not being able to operate at night.Read Also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-transboundary-haze-affects-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How weather elevates air pollution in Kathmandu</a>, Prabhakar Shrestha“For safety reasons, even if the destination airport is clear, a flight may not be able to operate because alternate airports do not have enough visibility,” Karna explains. “For example, it is not enough for Biratnagar to be open, nearby Janakpur and Rajbiraj also need to have enough visibility before a flight can take off from Kathmandu.” The situation has improved slightly in the past few years after night landing facilities have been installed at major airports in the Tarai allowing flights delayed during the day to operate later.As <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-air-pollution-hits-record-high/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s pollution</a> gets worse, and the airport now enveloped on all sides by urban sprawl, the heavy traffic on the roads adds to the pollution and bad visibility, leading in turn to congestion in the air.“Flight safety is paramount for airlines, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal also has a responsibility in upgrading navaids and streamlining air traffic control,” says Karna. “The delays are not only a hassle for passengers, crew and airline staff but adds to the carrier’s fuel costs, piling an extra economic burden on the state.”Read Also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/wildfires-in-nepal-cause-air-quality-to-plummet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wildfires in Nepal cause air quality to plummet </a>

air-pollution