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Pappu Jha | Trinity International College
Kathmandu Valley, a city of temples at the foothills of the Himalayas, is gradually transforming into a poisonous site for its residents.
In the era of globalization in the 21st century, the economic hub of Nepal is witnessing unprecedented immigration of citizens across Nepal, resulting in rapid urbanization and industrialization. Due to the assimilation of Nepalis across the country, the capital is undergoing massive economic upliftment. However, it brings environmental implications side by side whose ramifications are visible across all spheres of life.
Because of an excessive rise in air pollution, the winter skies of the valley get covered by a blanket of smoke and haze. The northern part of the city, which generally exhibits an eye-catching scenery of the snow-covered Himalayas, remains hidden in the polluted days of winter. Despite the fact that the Constitution of Nepal 2015 guarantees access to a ‘clean environment’ as a fundamental right of the people, no concrete actions are undertaken by the concerned administrations. Therefore, such incidents have become habitual among the population.
Air pollution is rampant, especially in winter, because eastern monsoon winds originating from the Bay of Bengal are curtailed and are replaced by those from the Mediterranean in the winter months. These winds do not contain moisture like their eastern counterparts. That is why polluted air is not washed up by the wind, and the atmosphere gets hazardous, covered by smoke.
Notably, the Nepali capital is one of the most polluted regions to live in across the Asian continent. Not just the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, as a country, is performing terribly in regard to environmental issues. According to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) of the year 2022, Nepal ranks 162 out of 180 countries surveyed by the index. This ranking takes eleven issues into account, including air quality, air pollution, and water & sanitation. Hence, it can be said that Nepal's actions in all factors are not up to the mark.
Although Kathmandu mostly depends on a renewable source (hydroelectricity) for its energy consumption, the skies of Nepal's political center are unhealthy for human health. This is because pollution is surging from other sources like fuel-propelled vehicles, incineration of garbage & biomass, industries, construction sites, and brick kilns. Among all of them, traffic is the major reason. According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, more than 1.2 million vehicles usually run on the streets of the Kathmandu Valley in a day. A majority of them are non-electric, causing a massive release of smoke into the air.
Apart from the local cause, activities in the territory of Nepal's southern neighbor are also the reasons behind Kathmandu's polluting air. As a result of massive vehicle emissions, blazing of hays, and firecrackers in the festival of ‘Diwali,’ particularly in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, pollutants are flown across the border into Nepal's space. Therefore, it is the need for the Nepali government to raise the issue with its Indian counterpart along with solving internal problems.
A recent study examining the problem of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in 204 countries from 1990-2019 has stated that Nepal has the highest mortality rate globally of 182.5 in every 100,000 populations. One of the major causes is air pollution. It should also be noted that pollution is solely responsible for around seven million fatalities worldwide. Likewise, the affected population is also prone to respiratory illness, allergy, eye infection & chronic diseases like lung cancer, Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD), and stroke.
Not only does air pollution affect health, but its implications can also be seen in the local economy of the Kathmandu Valley. The occupational burden is primarily suffered by the cops of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police, who have to work throughout the day in every weather condition. As a result, lung-related issues have been largely found occurring in them. Due to air contamination, consequences such as decreased working efficiency of manpower caused by illness and absenteeism are seen, which severely impacts the economy. In 2012, a study by economist Naveen Adhikari projected that the solution to the pollution problem in the valley would provide a financial benefit of about US$ 4.37 million to the residents. Not just Nepal’s capital, but the entire South Asia region is the most affected by pollution, bearing a loss of around US$ 66 billion yearly.
The Government of Nepal has taken significant initiatives in this regard. Since the mid-1990s, successive administrations have included environmental quality in their foremost strategy. Based on this, national policies have been adapted to counter climate change via various means such as working on the areas of environment, transport, industry, and rural energy. To deal with pollution-related issues in the capital specifically, the ‘Task Force on Air Pollution Control in Kathmandu Valley, 2073’ has been formed. However, despite the implementation of major steps, why is this challenge not under control?
Even though the formulation of laws is done on a regular basis in Kathmandu, the shortcomings lie in the implementation process. Despite discussions, debates, and events being organized frequently, no effective solutions are found. No large-scale study on the core reasons for pollution and its underlying effects on health and the economy (both short-term and long-term) has been done. It is true that a substantial number of the public in Kathmandu are aware of the environmental cause. However, this dividend is not able to yield many benefits due to unstable politics and the lack of focus of concerned leaders on the environmental challenge.
Bhupendra Das, a technical expert at an INGO – Clean Air Asia, comments that “Although there is a growing concern for air pollution, political leaders think it is part of a natural process and doesn’t matter much.”
There is no denying that air pollution is an existential threat to mankind at the present time. That is why its combat is a primary target under Goal 13 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) i.e. Climate Action. In the context of Kathmandu, its impacts on various areas ranging from health to the economy are extremely severe. Therefore, it is the need of the hour for the local and national administrations in Kathmandu to actively implement formulated plans and policies in order to resolve the current crisis.
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