Back to news
12 Jul 2016 | Atmosphere Initiative

Dispelling Air Pollution Myths in Kathmandu

2 mins Read

70% Complete

People in the region have taken a great interest in air pollution. The risks of air pollution affecting people may be the main reason for this increase in interest about air pollution in Kathmandu and the country at large.

Because of numbeo.com’s recent ranking of polluted cities in the world, Kathmandu was announced as the third most polluted city. The Clean Energy Nepal (CEN), Clean Air Network Nepal (CANN), Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) addressed the issue at the press meeting ‘Air Pollution in Kathmandu Valley- Myth and Truth’ 6 June 2016. The meeting was held at the offices of Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) in Bhanimandal, Lalitpur.

The programme brought together media representatives to initiate policy dialogue, and share facts about air quality in Kathmandu valley.

Prakash Bhave, Senior Air Quality Specialist at ICIMOD talked about fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and said recent media attention was due to the air’s negative impact on health.

‘Approximately seven million people die each year due to breathing fine particulate matter and it is the number one preventable cause of death right now’, Dr Bhave said. He clarified the Numbeo ranking was based on average people answering eight survey questions. Only about 70 people had responded at the time of the meeting. Results were based on perception of pollution with aggregation of many factors but not on scientific measurements and data about air pollution. The pollution index shown in ‘Breathing in Dirty Air’ on the website is the sum of different types of pollution and is misleading as it’s based on perceptions, not measurements.

Slide showing the list of questions of the survey done by numbeo.com
Source: Prakash Bhave’s presentation- ‘Air Pollution in Kathmandu Valley- Myth and Truth’

Dr Bhave confirmed Kathmandu ranks 261 on global database of 2,973 cities according to the WHO Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database (2016).

He also took the opportunity to acknowledge media in Kathmandu for raising public awareness about air pollution problem.

During the event Rajan Thapa of Clean Energy Nepal (CEN)/ Clean Air Network Nepal (CANN) presented ‘Air Quality Policies in Nepal’. Thapa suggested there was a vast room for improving policy and environmental regulation through better policy formulation and revision processes; revising and formulating national legislations; and by improving implementation practices, especially in part of governance and coordination. Establishing an effective monitoring system could also bring about immediate improvement in policy and existing regulations.

Dr Ram Narayan Shah, Pulmonologist for Madyapur Hospital Pvt. Ltd. gave a brief talk on ‘Impact of air pollution in Human Health’.

‘The immunity system of these groups is not as strong as that of young people so they are more vulnerable’ Dr Shah said. The number of patients with upper respiratory tract infections is on rise  recently. ‘People of old age and children are most vulnerable to problems associated with air pollution’.

The event provided reporters with an opportunity to interact with experts to understand various aspects of air pollution that are important for accurate reporting.  This event is expected to decrease misleading headlines that misinform the public and propagate myths. Around 35 participants from different media attended the programme.

A number of articles were covered in different media outlets and a brief analysis of the coverage was done by ICIMOD staffs to identify key highlights useful in communicating with media on air pollution in particular.

For more information contact

Subasana Shrestha, ICIMOD

Email: Subasana.Shrestha@icimod.org

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

14 Aug 2015 News
EU and ICIMOD intensify collaboration

A joint meeting of delegations from the EU and ICIMOD expressed satisfaction on the progress made by the EU-funded programme ...

15 Apr 2015 News
Observing the Kailash progress

A team of officials from the Department for International Development (DFID) under the United Kingdom government visited the districts of ...

12 Oct 2015 Wetlands
Advocating for wetland conservation and management

  Over 70 experts, policy makers, scientists & academia gathered in Dali, China to contribute to improved the management of wetland ...

22 Mar 2015 News
The Himalayan waters: complex challenges and regional solutions

It is difficult to think of a resource more essential to the wellbeing of people and their economies than water, ...

25 Jun 2018 Cryosphere
CMP-B professionals trained on HEC-RAS Flood Modelling

ICIMOD is currently supporting a socio-economic and vulnerability assessment of the Punatshangchu basin as part of the Cryosphere Monitoring Programme ...

Policy Level Interventions to Improve Brick Industry in Nepal

The purpose of the workshop was to present a compiled report and to seek input from concerned institutions to further ...

15 Nov 2016 News
Developing an Avenue to Strengthen Community Interactions and Engagement for Conservation and Development

It has been agreed upon that a Community Information Resource Centre (CIRC) will be established in Wa San Dum, a ...

10 Sep 2017 News
Pakistani Officials Support Early Flood Warning System Implementation in Gilgit Baltistan

To manage hazards in the region, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Pakistan and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), with ...