Pollution, which had increased due to dry weather and forest fires, has gradually started to decrease with the rains in recent days.
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The air quality in the Kathmandu Valley, which had increased sharply last week, is improving again. Pollution, which had increased due to dry weather and forest fires, has gradually decreased with the rains in recent days. According to the Air Quality Index (AQI), the air quality index, which was around 92 on Tuesday, had increased to 247 on Thursday. Experts had expressed concern as the level was in the ‘very unhealthy’ category. Currently, pollution is decreasing and the AQI has dropped to 141 today, which is in the ‘unhealthy’ category. According to the AQI criteria, 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 is ‘moderate’, 101-150 is ‘unhealthy’, 151-200 is considered ‘unhealthy for everyone’, 201-300 is ‘very unhealthy’ and above 300 is ‘extremely hazardous’.
Director General of the Department of Environment Gyanraj Subedi said that rain will play an important role in controlling air pollution. 'Due to prolonged lack of rain, dust and smoke accumulate in the atmosphere, forest fires increase and the smoke from it accumulates in the valley, which leads to high pollution,' he said. 'Also, polluted air coming from neighboring India also affects Kathmandu's air quality.'
He stressed that the relevant agencies should effectively implement sustainable and environmentally friendly development measures to control pollution. According to Binu Maharjan, a meteorologist at the Department of Water and Meteorology, there is a good chance of rain from Wednesday. This is expected to help further reduce pollution by controlling dust and particles in the air.
