Stakeholders have expressed concern that air pollution has become a major problem with increasing urbanization in recent times.

In the parallel session on 'Sustainable Cities and Communities' on the second day of the Sagarmatha Dialogue, which started on Friday, air pollution, coupled with climate change, has become a major problem in cities and it is having a negative impact on the health of children and the elderly. Speakers at the

session said cities are vulnerable to climate-related disasters. Chiribabu Maharjan, head of Lalitpur Metropolitan Municipality, said that due to the heavy rain last October, an unimaginable disaster occurred in Kathmandu Valley and it taught a lesson of adaptation.

'The flood of Asoj is a new climate-related catastrophic event, the disaster has also caused damage due to the lack of public awareness,' said Maharjan, 'Now sustainable and climate-friendly infrastructure development and disaster management policies should be implemented effectively.'

The deputy head of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Sunita Dangol, has also emphasized that climate change has caused unforeseen disasters in the recent past and that we should be aware now and raise our voices for climate justice. Padam Kumar Mainali, joint secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, has emphasized that while developing a new city, it should be made a disaster-friendly city and for this there should be coordination between the three levels of government.