Last Tuesday, the Kathmandu Valley's AQI reached 191, but it dropped to 114 on Wednesday.
What you should know
Air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley is decreasing. The air pollution has decreased to an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 99 on Friday afternoon.
Last Tuesday, the AQI of the valley reached 191, and on Wednesday at the same time, it dropped to 114. The Department of Environment has stated that air pollution has also decreased with the increase in wind speed. According to the AQI, Kathmandu was listed as the third most polluted city in the world on Tuesday, but has dropped to 18th place today. Currently, Lahore in Pakistan is in first place with an AQI of 373, and Kolkata in India is in second place with an AQI of 186.
Director General of the Department of Environment Gyanraj Subedi informed that air pollution increases in the dry season and decreases when it rains and the wind blows. 'Rain helps to bring dust and particles in the air to the ground, and when the wind picks up dust and pollution particles, pollution decreases,' he said, 'We have suggested to the concerned bodies to effectively implement sustainable and environment-friendly development measures.'
Environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar suggested that timely preparation, management of leaf litter, fire control, and vehicle smoke testing and strict implementation of standards are necessary.
According to the AQI standards, zero to 50 is considered 'good' (green signal), 51 to 100 is considered 'caution' (yellow signal), and 101 to 150 is considered 'unhealthy', which experts say can especially affect respiratory and heart patients. Environmentalist Tuladhar said that 151 to 200 is considered 'unhealthy for everyone', 201 to 300 is considered 'very unhealthy', and above 300 is considered 'extremely dangerous'.
