<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a0db9c7e80680e0d7056jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>From 2 December to 5 January the Department of Environment conducted surprise checks of 581 vehicles in Kathmandu Valley to test their emission. The results were not surprising.More than one-third of the vans, buses, two-wheelers and cars failed the test. They were emitting smoke and toxic gases above the safe threshold. The worst were school buses, micros, taxis, water tankers, and government vehicles.Even more surprising: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/">some of them had green stickers on</a> their windshields to prove they had passed emissions tests. After that spot check, the Department has announced a new fine of up to Rs5,000 for drivers of polluting vehciles.Earlier, it had identified vehicular emissions and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-toxic-trash/">open burning are among the primary agents</a> of air pollution in Kathmandu – which has one of the worst air of any city in the world.If the vehicles owners still fail emission tests after necessary repairs, they can be fined up to Rs100,000 as per the Environment Protection Act, 2019.“At the moment, we have not imposed high fines on vehicles that cause pollution," says Saloja Adhikari, Information officer of the Environment Department. “We are enforcing stricter rules on re-inspection of those that have failed the emission tests and those that are being driven without necessary repairs."Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/">Green sticker = green light to pollute</a>, Sonam Choekyi LamaShe adds, "Rather than what vehicles cause more pollution, the important thing to realise is that often one can easily repair their vehicle for the cost of the fine. This is to encourage vehicle owners to service their vehicles rather than to fine them outright.”The number of two and four-wheelers in Kathmandu valley now exceeds 1.2 million. Last year alone, 1.8 million vehicles were registered in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Transport. These vehicles produce urban pollutants such as Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) that highly reacts with other gases to form toxic ground-level Ozone (O3).  Motorcycles also emit other gases such as Carbon monoxide (CO) that convert atmospheric oxygen to Ozone.In addition, vehicles, open burning, brick kilns, factories and machineries release the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">harmful particulates measuring 2.5μm or less</a> (PM2.5) into the air.According to the State of Global Air, PM2.5 has caused the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">death of as many as 17,900 people in Nepal</a> in 2019 alone and more than 145,000 people of all ages and gender between 2010 and 2019.There have been repeated attempts to use Euro 6-grade oil according to the European emission standards to reduce pollution from vehicles, but the increased price of oil and coal in the international market has circulated low-grade coal that emits toxic fumes like sulfur dioxide (SO₂).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a0df9c7e80680e0d7057jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="786"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Up to 50% of vehicles in the valley are of Euro 1 grade and emit more fumes than the prescribed standard,” says pollution expert Bhupendra Das.Namraj Ghimire, director general of the Department of Environment notes that the department has been paying extra attention to smoke emitted from a vehicle and open garbage burning this winter, since the brick kilns have not been operating. It has been coordinating with the Kathmandu Metropolitan and the Traffic Police to prevent pollution from burning garbage in open areas.Yet, there has not been much progress in controlling the risk factors of air pollution, even from the department. Even though the Rs35 emission test is mentioned on its charter, there has been no publicity effort to take this information to vehicle owners. Further, vehicles that have come to get embossed number plates can be found emitting pollutants right on its premises.On the other hand, Nepal has committed to replacing 25% of fuel-operating private vehicles and 20% of public vehicles with electric vehicles by 2025. But no program has been introduced to replace or discourage petrol and diesel vehicles, install charging stations, and build infrastructure for environment-friendly transports like bicycles.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-can-kill-you/">Breathing can kill</a>, Sonia AwaleExperts say Nepal needs a sustained and holistic long-term approach to control transport pollution, and create new markets for renewable and efficient fuels, through interventions from politicians and bureaucrats for actual progress. The burden of air pollution is so high, that continuous action to reduce emissions at the source can only create a change.Yet, on top of buying Green Stickers over the counter through bribes and middlemen, many owners and drivers continue to operate their vehicles without necessary reconditioning, despite the warnings, and pay the Rs5000 fine, while the annual emission test costs only Rs35.“Although vehicle smoke is visible, car owners do not regularly maintain their vehicles,” explains Regina Maskey, Head of the Environment Central Department at Tribhuvan University. “This includes government vehicles as well. They do not know that without regular repairs, vehicle parts will deteriorate and cost more to fix later.”Regular servicing can reduce 30% of smoke emitted from a vehicle, however, that does not seem to be the priority for Nepal’s vehicle owners.Translated from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/133987">Himal Khabar original</a> by Aria Parasai.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-toxic-trash/">Kathmandu's toxic trash</a>, Sonia Awale

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Hefty fines fail to deter polluting vehicles

<img width="828" height="501" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd1179c7e80680e08f894jpeg.jpg" alt="Air pollution in Kathmandu"/>Winter inversion, vehicular emission, wildfires, and cross-border industrial pollution have combined to give Kathmandu Valley the worst air quality among cities in the world this week, adding to the risk of respiratory complications for Covid-19 patients.On Monday night, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in parts of Kathmandu crossed 500, according to measurements at the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Embassy measuring station</a> at Phora Darbar. It remained at above 500 from 10PM till 5AM, falling to 480 at 7AM on Tuesday. <figure><img width="2156" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd1199c7e80680e08f895jpeg.jpg" alt="NASA Worldview image of Nepal wildfires"><figcaption>A NASA Worldview satellite image of Nepal on 3 January showing the spread of smoke from wildfires in Kaski, Lamjung, and Dhading. Combined with vehicle and crossborder pollution,Kathmandu's AQI count hovered at 500 for the second straight day.</figcaption></figure> The Department of Environment’s own measuring station in parts of Kathmandu showed the AQI staying above 400 all day on Monday. Other global AQI measurement sites like <a href="https://support.iqair.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IQAir</a> put Kathmandu’s pollution level at 487 – the highest among cities in the region. <img width="746" height="512" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd11c9c7e80680e08f896jpeg.jpg" alt="AQI Kathmandu">New Delhi’s AQI levels, which have been consistently high all winter because of crop residue burning as well as vehicular and industrial pollution, got a respite on Monday because of rainfall. At a time when Kathmandu’s <a href="https://waqi.info/#/c/26.725/78.758/6.2z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AQI was hitting record highs on Tuesday morning</a> with 438, the New Delhi suburb of Noida recorded less than 151 (<a href="https://aqicn.org/map/#@g/24.4264/86.8579/5z">AQI World map, below).</a> <figure><img width="2234" height="1346" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd11e9c7e80680e08f897jpeg.jpg" alt="New Delhi and Kathmandu AQI levels"><figcaption>AQI levels in north India and Nepal on 5 January at 8AM showing Kathmandu's much higher pollution levels compared to New Delhi.</figcaption></figure>AQI is a composite measurement of the concentration of particulate matter below 10 and 2.5 microns, carbon monoxide, sulphur and nitrogen dioxide and ground ozone. AQI level between 0-50 is ‘Good’, 51-100 is ‘Moderate’, 101-150 is ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’, 151-200 is ‘Unhealthy’, 201-300 is 'Very Unhealthy', and anything above 301 is regarded as 'Hazardous'. Kathmandu's AQI has remained at the Maroon 'Hazardous' level for two days in a row. The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has also colour coded various AQI levels at Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Purple, and Maroon. The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s guidelines state that AQI should be below 35, and the concentration of particles below 2.5 microns should be below 25 μg/m³over a 24 hour period. This means Kathmandu's pollution has been 15 times higher than the WHO standard. <img width="2172" height="760" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd1219c7e80680e08f898jpeg.jpg" alt="AQI measurement guide">In Nepal, a Cabinet decision last year adopted the Department of Environment’s guidelines for air pollution to declare a health emergency if AQI exceeded 300 – meaning the government can ban open burning, close factories, and take measures to reduce vehicles on the roads. The government, which has been engulfed in a crisis within the ruling party after Prime Minister K P Oli dissolved the Lower House and called for snap polls in April-May, seems to be too distracted to pay attention to the converging crises of Covid-19 and air pollution. <img width="1202" height="1064" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd1249c7e80680e08f899jpeg.jpg" alt="Bhushan Tuladhar tweet">“This is a grave threat to public health, the government should have declared an emergency and taken urgent measures to curb pollution,” says environmental expert Bhushan Tuladhar. (left)The air pollution emergency in Kathmandu puts the elderly, those with asthma and other respiratory ailments at high risk, and would be especially dangerous to those with Covid-19.  <img width="756" height="1286" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd1279c7e80680e08f89ajpeg.jpg" alt="AQI Ratnapark"><img width="660" height="1346" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd1299c7e80680e08f89bjpeg.jpg" alt="AQI rank by city">Poor air quality in Kathmandu and inside rural homes due to smoky kitchen fires kill far more people across South Asia than SARS-CoV-2. However, the record-breaking pollution this winter will add to the risk of the coronavirus.  Even before Covid-19, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had warned that poor <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air quality</a> in northern India and the Tarai was already the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/air-pollution-decreases-life-span,3999" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reducing average lifespan</a> of tens of millions of people by 3.7 years.“Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause many of the health conditions associated with increased vulnerability to Covid-19, such as diabetes and chronic heart and lung diseases,” said the <a href="https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/soga-2020-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">State of Global Air 2020</a> released last October.  <figure><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd12b9c7e80680e08f89cjpeg.jpg" alt="Patan School Lalitpur clock tower"><figcaption>The clock is ticking for Kathmandu to act on reducing the health hazards of air pollution.</figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/double-whammy-air-pollution-and-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> says that 100% of the population in India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels are higher than the WHO Air Quality Guideline. Nepal is not far behind with 98% of its people living in such areas. More than 65% of all deaths due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) in 2019 were linked to air pollution in Nepal.Says Pallavi Pant, air quality scientist at the Health Effects Institute: “Exposures to air pollution have been shown to affect the human body’s immune defence, making an individual more susceptible to respiratory infections such as pneumonia.”

Kathmandu air pollution hits record high

<figure><img width="1400" height="933" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb6b9c7e80680e0802c3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>In the past eight months of this year, 791 people have died in Nepal from Covid-19. In the whole of 2019, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> directly killed 42,100 people in the country.Poor air quality in cities and inside homes due to smoky kitchen fires kill far more people across South Asia than SARS-CoV-2. But now, researchers say, there is a looming danger that as winter approaches, deterioration of air quality and Covid-19 will emerge as a double whammy.Even before the pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was already warning that poor <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air quality</a> in the Indo-Gangetic plains that includes a part of the Tarai in Nepal was already the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/air-pollution-decreases-life-span,3999" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reducing average lifespan</a> of tens of millions of people by 3.7 years. <figure><img width="1876" height="1018" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb6e9c7e80680e0802c4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause many of the health conditions associated with increased vulnerability to Covid-19, such as diabetes and chronic heart and lung diseases,” says the <a href="https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/soga-2020-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">State of Global Air 2020</a> released on Wednesday. The report shows that air pollution is among the biggest risk factors for all major mortality in the region, surpassed only by high blood pressure, tobacco use, and poor diet. <figure><img width="1500" height="861" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb719c7e80680e0802c5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="820" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb759c7e80680e0802c6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb789c7e80680e0802c7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1442"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb7b9c7e80680e0802c8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="993">Air pollution accounted for 6.7 million deaths globally, 2.1 million in South Asia, and nearly 42,100 deaths in Nepal in 2019 alone. Nepal ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest PM2.5 concentrations (harmful particles less than 2.5 microns suspended in the air).  Bangladesh, India and Pakistan also made the cut.The report says that 100% of the population in India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels are higher than the WHO Air Quality Guideline. Nepal is not far behind with 98% of its people living in such areas. The report, a collaboration between the Boston-based Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 116,000 lives in India and 765 in Nepal. Pollution and SARS-Cov-2 both affect the respiratory tract and lead to pneumonia. In fact, patients with pre-existing heart and lung disease are at high risk of coronavirus infection.On Wednesday, there were a total of 44,476 active cases after an additional 5,743 positives with Kathmandu Valley alone reporting 3,107 of them. With 2,996 discharged in the last 24 hours, the recovery rate now stands at 68.7%. There are a total of 269 patients in ICU and 87 on ventilator support. Bagmati province accounts for the most of them, 152 in ICU and 59 on ventilator.  <figure><img width="1492" height="639" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb7e9c7e80680e0802c9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>More than 65% of all deaths due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) in 2019 were linked to air pollution in Nepal. In India, it was 60%, and over 30% of the deaths due to ischemic heart disease in 2019 were linked to air pollution in both countries.These figures will only increase with the upcoming winter months which is also the flu season. India is already struggling with over 7.6 million Covid-19 cases. Nepal’s capital Kathmandu has run out of hospital beds including ICUs, oxygen, ventilators, and there is a shortage of other medical supplies. Although the full links between air pollution and Covid-19 are not yet known, there is clear evidence connecting air pollution and increased heart and lung disease. There is growing concern that air pollution exposures, especially in the most polluted regions of South Asia, could exacerbate the effects of Covid-19 significantly.“Exposures to air pollution have been shown to affect the human body’s immune defence making an individual more susceptible to respiratory infections such as pneumonia,” says Pallavi Pant, air quality scientist at the Health Effects Institute. “Air pollution exposures are linked with a range of diseases including chronic heart and lung diseases – all of which contribute to poorer outcomes in patients infected with the virus.”  <figure><img width="1500" height="441" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb819c7e80680e0802cajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1491" height="616" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb839c7e80680e0802cbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Researchers say it is likely that people living in areas with high air pollution will experience more adverse outcomes from Covid-19. The report also found that air pollution is a leading risk factor to health both in Nepal and India followed by smoking and high blood pressure. Even though there is now greater awareness in Nepal and in South Asia about the impact of poor air quality, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/beat-air-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not even steps have been taken</a> at the nation state level. There is also no <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/one-atmosphere/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cross-border collaboration in controlling air quality</a> especially as the annual season for crops residue burning is sending plumes of pollution across South Asia.“Although there have been actions and air quality improvements in some countries, including Nepal, there has been little or no sustained progress over the last decade in the most polluted countries of South Asia and Africa,” says the report.In the first-ever comprehensive analysis of air pollution’s global impact on newborns, the report finds that outdoor and household particulate matter pollution contributed to the deaths of nearly 500,000 infants in their first month of life. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the infant deaths are linked to use of household burning of solid fuels, hitting hardest in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.In Nepal, 22% of all neonatal mortality is linked to air pollution, most of which is attributed to indoor pollution from kitchen fires. This is much higher than the figure in India where 46% of all neonatal deaths due to air pollution is attributed to household air pollution.

Sonia Awale

Double whammy: air pollution and Covid-19

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

Everest summiteers find new life in the US

Chinese EV company Dongfeng Nammi has exported 12,000 units of the JF-S3 to over 40 countries, doing especially well in Norway, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. It is also setting up production facilities in South America and Southeast Asia.&nbsp;