<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202fc9c7e80680e0b27e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption>Vehicles are one of the biggest emitters of PM2.5 and other pollutants in Kathmandu. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>It is that time of the year again when smog makes <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s air hazardous to health</a>. Hospitals are swamped not with Covid, but COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).Once more, there is a flurry of media headlines about the dangerous concentration of suspended particles smaller than 2.5 microns from diesel exhaust.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/happy-new-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Happy New Air</a>, Sonia AwalePublic awareness about air pollution is at an all-time high, the average life expectancy of Kathmandu’s residents is reduced by at least four years. Yet, nothing happens. Why?“The awareness and knowledge have not translated into corrective action,” explains environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar. “We know about vehicle emission tests but we ignore it, open burning is bad but we don’t stop, we have the opportunity to reduce air pollution with electric mass transport but we don’t invest in it.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203009c7e80680e0b27e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Air pollution was directly linked to at least 42,100 deaths in Nepal in 2019. Almost half of that was due to breathing in particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter which can cross the air blood barrier in the lung capillaries. Most of those particles come from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-sticker-green-light-to-pollute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vehicle emission</a>.From 1990 to 2015, the number of vehicless in Nepal grew by 1,995,404 — most of them in Kathmandu Valley. In five years, that figure doubled to 3,987,267.This figure doesn’t include the exploding demand for cars and motorcycles after the end of the Covid second wave in mid-2021. Nepal spent Rs543 billion in importing vehicles, transport equipment and spare parts in four months from mid-July to mid-October, against Rs357 billion and Rs418 billion for the same periods in 2020 and 2019.“There has been an unexpectedly high demand for private vehicles in Nepal after the pandemic, especially two wheelers given the public’s hesitancy to use buses due to coronavirus fears,” says Dhruba Thapa of the National Automotive Dealers Association.<iframe style="border: none;" title="Total vehicles in Nepal" src="https://e.infogram.com/e0cdbfd0-0b3c-4f57-851e-7aced6e69116?src=embed" width="700" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com/e0cdbfd0-0b3c-4f57-851e-7aced6e69116" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Total vehicles in Nepal</a><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Infogram</a>Raju Chettri, CEO of the MAW Enterprises that imports Yamaha bikes in Nepal has a similar observation. He saw a decline in the annual sales of two wheelers from about 250,000 units to 190,000 right after the pandemic. But this year, the sales went up to 350,000 units.“There are two reasons behind this: pent-up demand and reduced use of public transport because of Covid fears,” Chettri says.There are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 3.1 million two-wheeers in Nepal</a>, over one million of them in Kathmandu. They are adding to the capital’s foul air, as they are up to 10 times more polluting per passenger kilometre than buses and cars.<iframe style="border: none;" title="Total Motorbikes in Nepal" src="https://e.infogram.com/ea449cd7-2598-4cd4-8ae2-cd91858f9553?src=embed" width="700" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com/ea449cd7-2598-4cd4-8ae2-cd91858f9553" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Total Motorbikes in Nepal</a><a style="color: #989898!important; text-decoration: none!important;" href="https://infogram.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Infogram</a>Two-wheelers also emit invisible toxic gases like carbon monoxide, benzene and nitrous oxides, and increase the concentration of street-level ozone. Motorcycle exhaust may not be as visible as diesel exhaust, but they are highly poisonous — especially when there are so many of them. Besides exacerbating respiratory diseases, the gases are carcinogenic, causing cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s.The solution is to shift rapidly to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-electric-transport-future-is-here/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cleaner electric vehicles</a>, not just for healthier air but also to meet Nepal’s net-zero pledge in Glasgow and to reduce the country’s burgeoning petroleum import bill.“The priority has to be on electric public transport and supporting infrastructure,” says environmentalist Tuladhar. “Electric buses are more expensive than diesel ones, so the government has to help with capital, and better manage Kathmandu’s public transport.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203039c7e80680e0b27e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This week, Nepal opened its first electric charging station powered by solar panels for the Lumbini Development Trust. Similar charging stations can be set up for public and private vehicles in existing bus parks across Nepal and along highways. Sajha Yatayat which is procuring 40 electric buses is also trying to turn the former trolley bus terminal into a charging station.Shilshila Acharya of the Avni Center for Sustainability agrees that the priority should be on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electrifying public transport</a> and encouraging bicycle lanes. She says, “Replacing cars with more cars even if electric only promotes consumerism. We have to give people reliable alternatives.”Kathmandu Valley Air Quality Management Action Plan held its first implementation committee meeting this week, during which it discussed lunching of a USAID-funded project for air pollution and a forecasting system with technical support from ICIMOD.“The problem of air pollution will take some time to be solved but we have started our homework,” says Indu Joshi of the Department of Environment. “At the moment, our biggest challenge is controlling open burning.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203069c7e80680e0b27e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2625"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Apart from transport, garbage burning and biomass fuel for household heating and cooking are also contributors to Kathmandu’s dirty air. The problem is made worse in winter due to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Valley’s topography that traps surface pollution</a> in an inversion layer.Improper <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/a-load-of-rubbish-kathmandus-garbage-problem,4039" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solid waste management in Kathmandu</a> means locals burn garbage by the riverbanks near residential areas — while, as studies show, segregation of waste at homes can reduce the city’s garbage volume by up to 80%.There is no other problem that is so directly linked with the health and economy of the country as urban air pollution. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 lockdown in 2020</a> is proof that Kathmandu can be cleaned up, it just needs <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dirty-politics-dirty-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the right leadership and the political will</a> to back it up.Says Shilashila Acharya: “Our policies on mobility and air pollution have to be people- and culture-centric, instead of focusing only on technology. We must build public pressure to force the politicians into action.”A public opinion poll in this paper just before the 2017 elections showed that a majority of Nepalis were concerned about the health impact of pollution. Since 2022 will be dominated by campaigning for the next election, this could be turned into the main criteria for candidates to win votes.

Sonia Awale

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Breathing can kill you

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9219c7e80680e092e81jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Haze shrouds Bhaktapur on Monday afternoon as smoke from fires in Chitwan engulfed Kathmandu Valley and Central Nepal. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu Valley and Central Nepal was engulfed in thick haze on Monday afternoon as prevailing winds whipped up fires in Chitwan and Parsa National Parks.Infrared satellite images from NASA’s <a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616508970355000&amp;usg=AFQjCNErMmof792DiNvE9DRev-Wskc40QQ">FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System)</a> showed many fires raging at the eastern edge of Chitwan and across Parsa, in the vicinity of Hetauda, as well as in Bardia, Surkhet and other districts in the mid-mountains of western Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9249c7e80680e092e82jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="539"><figcaption>Forest fires in Chitwan and Parsa National Parks southwest of Kathmandu in this infrared image from NASA’s FIRMS satellite taken on Monday. Image: FIRMS/NASA</figcaption></figure>Another satellite image in the visible spectrum from <a href="http://www.apple.com/uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.apple.com/uk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616508970355000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEbOVQv7FTp2t429z67KNcTUW51Iw">NASA Worldview </a>showed blue smoke shrouding Himalayan valleys of Central Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9279c7e80680e092e83jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="689"><figcaption>Image in the visual spectrum taken by NASA’s Worldview satellite on Monday at 2pm local time. Image: NASA Worldview</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9299c7e80680e092e84jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="401"><figcaption>Air Quality Index measured in Patan in Kathmandu Valley at 4pm on Monday showed a hazardous reading of 421, which is more than ten times higher than the WHO's safe threshold. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The national parks allow buffer zone villagers to enter the protected areas once a year in spring to collect deadwood and thatch grass. Villagers sometimes set fire to the grasslands, and prevailing winds spread these blazes.Deficient winter rain this year has made the forests in the Nepal Tarai drier than usual, which has led to the fires this year more extensive.Kathmandu Valley recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 421 at 4pm on Sunday, which is more than 10 times higher than the threshold set by the World Health Organisation for air safe for breathing.In addition to the smoke, there was also pollution from traffic emissions, cross-border industrial smog from India, as well as wind-blown sand from the Arabian desert that has been covering the Subcontinent for the past week.

Central Nepal engulfed in smoke

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd3939c7e80680e08f975jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2076" height="1210"/><figcaption>A NASA satellite image showing Central Nepal's river valleys and how they act as funnels for pollution from the Indian plains to travel up to the mountains.</figcaption></figure>The Himalayan mountains act as a barrier separating the clean air of the Tibetan Plateau from the polluted Indo-Gangetic plains. But Nepal’s rivers cut through the mountains, and their valleys allow smog from the plains to penetrate deep into the mountains.This haze intrusion goes up to elevations of 4,000m, and the pollution layer is more shallow and flat in winter, and inclined and parallel to the ridgeline in the pre-monsoon. The depth of this pollution layer up the valleys also decreases with elevation.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd3969c7e80680e08f976jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="325"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>These visible air pollution images are captured regularly by the <a href="https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/">MODIS</a> (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument aboard the two NASA satellites Terra and Aqua orbiting the Earth. The dull bluish haze is mostly made up of fine aerosol particles and extends right across the Indo-Gangetic plains from Pakistan to Bangladesh, as well as the Tarai in Nepal.While human-generated emissions from agricultural burning, urban, rural and industrial emissions are mainly responsible for this region-wide pollution, weather conditions and the blocking effect of the Siwalik Range also affect its spread. More interestingly, if we zoom in on the images, we can see that the haze does not just stay in the plains, but flows up into the inner Himalaya along river valleys.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd3989c7e80680e08f977jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="381"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>These satellite images provide valuable insight for researchers looking into the geographical spread and long-range transport of aerosol particles. Scientists at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a> in the United States have developed a novel technique to use the high-resolution satellite images from MODIS and elevation data from <a href="https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/mission.htm">SRTM</a> (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) to extract the daytime haze run-up that measure intrusion length and height over the Arun Valley in eastern Nepal.The Arun River starts in Tibet, snakes around Mt Everest to find a gap between Makalu and Kangchenjunga to tumble down Himalayan gorges to meet up with the Sun Kosi and Tamor— flowing out into the Tarai at Chhatra and then through the Kosi Barrage to meet the Ganges in India. This also opens up the entry gate for haze to flow from the Indo-Gangetic Plains into the inner Himalayas.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd39a9c7e80680e08f978jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="321"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In winter, the surface temperature in the plains plummets, and the air is dry. The southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau at upper levels is also battered by the sub-tropical jetstream, with weak westerly wind below it. The low surface temperature in the plains confines the pollution to a shallow <a href="https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Atmospheric_boundary_layer">boundary layer</a> that is lower than the Siwalik Range. Up-valley winds along the river valleys then transport the haze into the Inner Himalaya.The river valley-plains temperature contrast produces a pressure gradient that drives this flow up the valley during the day and down the valley during the night. Besides, the topography, vegetation cover and groundwater level in the slopes can also contribute to warming of valley air which could further amplify the up-valley wind.In addition, the daytime up-slope and night-time down-slope winds developing in the river valleys also play and important role in ventilating the air pollution from the valley surface.Measurements of the nature and size of fine aerosols were conducted for the first time in the middle Himalayan region in the pre-monsoon. In general, the aerosol size distribution peaks around 100nm, which is usually the oldest, most processed background aerosol and about the size of the Covid-19 virus.Another smaller peak around 20 nm, is indicative of fresh but not necessarily local aerosols. The chemical composition of PM2.5 (particulate matter below 2.5 microns) is dominated by organic matter. Organic carbon (OC) comprises the major fraction (64–68%) of the aerosol concentration followed by ionic species (24–26%), Elemental Carbon (EC) compromises 7–10% of the total composition and 27% of OC is water soluble.Elemental Carbon and Organic Carbon together are aerosols contributed by burning of wood fuels, crop-residue, coal including vehicular emission and others. The light absorbing properties of elemental carbon play a crucial role in atmospheric warming and surface cooling due to their interaction with the daytime solar heating.Industrial and vehicular emissions, biomass burning, soil dust and others including chemical transformations in the atmosphere contribute to the ionic species in aerosols. These are readily water-soluble parts of the aerosol which along with organic particles aid in their growth in presence of moisture, contributing to increase in optical thickness of haze.The aerosol concentration also changes over the day. It increases in the morning (05:00-10:00) and in the evening (17:00-22:00). The lower values in the afternoon could be attributed partly to more mixing, and increase in the boundary layer height.During the night, the downslope winds lift the warm air mass in the valley, resulting in the decrease of the aerosol concentration near the surface. On the other hand, aerosol loading can also be eventually washed away by local rainfall during the pre-monsoon and winter.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd39c9c7e80680e08f979jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="300"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>While pollution haze is visible even in satellite images, its quantitative measurements can also be made by remote sensing. Haze and dust particles in the air block sunlight reaching the ground by absorbing and scattering it. This property of aerosols is used to estimate the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD).A long-term average of winter AOD from December-February over the last 20 years in the region shows that winter haze extends throughout the Indo-Gangetic plains, with relatively higher readings for the eastern regions of Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh, across Nepal’s southeastern border. The regional average winter AOD also shows an alarming increase in the past two decades due to increase in emissions from increased crop-residue burning, rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, etc.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd39e9c7e80680e08f97ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="481"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Aside from transboundary haze, this winter has also seen an increase in wildfires that have exacerbated the pollution in Nepal’s Inner Himalayan valleys. The Pathivara and Annapurna Conservation Area fires in December, followed by uncontrolled wildfires in Manang, Lamjung and Rasuwa in January were clearly visible in NASA satellite images.The very high pollution levels in Kathmandu Valley on 6-7 January was also aggravated by overcast skies which subdued the ventilation mechanism of the valley, but smoke from these wildfires also acted as contributors. Since the daily satellite data is in the public domain, they could be used along with global models by Nepal’s met office to nowcast air pollution episodes over the Himalaya.While local air pollution can be brought under control in the interest of protecting public health by the local governments with appropriate policy and regulation, it is trans-boundary pollution that cannot be easily addressed. It requires regional collaboration to adopt and implement policies to reduce sources of pollution like crop residue burning, vehicular and industrial emissions. The atmospheric initiative at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) could be one such mechanism.More immediately, there is an urgent need to set up permanent air quality monitoring stations along Nepal’s major river valley outlets to monitor trans-boundary air pollution and more research by universities in Nepal to improve our knowledge of local and regional pollution so that policy makers can make better decisions.Prabhakar Shrestha is a research scientist working at Bonn University, Germany.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd3a19c7e80680e08f97bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="89" height="103">

How transboundary haze affects Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57679c7e80680e0547e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1100" height="735"/><figcaption>UP IN SMOKE: Failure of successive monsoons led to massive fires across Nepal, shown in a NASA satellite image from 12 March 2009, which covered almost the whole country in smoke. There were similar fires this spring. Photo: NASA</figcaption></figure>The global media, world leaders, celebrities and environmental activists have expressed alarm at the mass arson in the Amazon rainforest, even as Hurricane Dorian and the heatwaves of this northern hemisphere summer underline the seriousness of the climate emergency.The Amazon spans nine South American countries, and the vast continental forest was a biodiversity hotspot even before the fires were started by farmers emboldened by Brazil’s President Jair Bolsanaro’s encouragement to clear trees to make way for farms.The Amazon acts as a vast sink for atmospheric carbon. Scientists have said that preserving forests and re-greening degraded land is the single most effective way to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, even as countries globally work on slashing emissions.Mass burning of forests not only releases more carbon into the atmosphere, but also decreases the capacity of the planet to absorb carbon dioxide. Besides this, forests also fulfil critical life-affirming functions, such as maintaining water quality, sustaining bio-diversity and regulating micro-climates and weather processes.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32836&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mustn't blame everything on Climate Change,</a> Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32864&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Third Pole is warming faster than expected,</a> Kunda DixitHowever, Brazil does not have a monopoly on forest destruction. In 2017 and 2018, massive forest fires in California raged for weeks, killing 100 people. Fires started by farmers clearing forests for agriculture and palm oil plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra blanket Southeast Asia in smoke every year.Forest fires have also become more common in Nepal and across the Himalaya. In March 2009, following the failure of winter rains, enormous fires raged across the country destroying more than 105,000ha of forest land, and killing 43. (See NASA satellite image below.) In the past year there have been 2,771 fires in which 89 people have been killed, according to the National Emergency Operation Centre. Damage to property and livestock totalled Rs4 billion.Big multiple fires, like these during spring, lead to black carbon or soot being transported by prevailing up-valley winds to be deposited on the snow, reducing its ability to reflect sunlight, and increasing ice melt during the spring thaw. Measurements on the Yala Glacier in Langtang have shown that up to a quarter of the ice melt is now due to dirty snow — the rest is caused by rising global average temperatures.Increasingly rapid warming of the earth’s surface, erratic rain and droughts make forests more vulnerable to fires — even in Nepal’s successful community forests, which have helped increase the country’s total canopy cover.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32892&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tree-mendous,</a> Peter Gil<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/trees-politics-and-greed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trees, politics and greed</a>, Mukesh PokharelThere has been a global effort to compensate countries, forest dependent people and local custodians for protecting forests instead of cutting them down. After a conference in Bali in 2007, Nepal got involved in the program Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). But despite the transfer of some global funds to forest groups, uncertainty about the mechanism, technical considerations around measurement, and avoiding loss of the carbon stock have prevented REDD+ from being more effective, efficient and equitable. Moreover, in countries like Nepal with leaky bureaucracies, the benefits rarely reach local communities and the real managers of forests.Other issues, such as unclear tenure rights, limited access to resources for forest dependent people, lack of governance reforms, centralising tendencies of forest departments, inequitable benefit sharing and the poor implementation of social and environmental safeguards, continue to plague programs like REDD+. Overharvesting, illegal logging, infrastructure and conversion to plantations make conservation more difficult when we need forests more than ever before.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mosquitoes-move-up-mountains-as-the-earth-warms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mosquitoes move up mountains as the earth warms</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-health-emergency/">Climate-health emergency</a>, Sonia AwaleForests have inherent intrinsic value: they cool the air, sustain biodiversity, provide food, absorb carbon and produce a range of other ecosystem services. Yet, rising temperatures will introduce new risks, making forest areas more susceptible to fires, including in Nepal. The land turns dry during non-monsoon months, fanning fires that in turn destroy vegetation and undergrowth, exposing more land surface to erosion during rains and increasing the sediment loads on rivers, leading to more flash floods.Already burdened with growing enough to feed their families, small-scale farmers across Nepal will find it increasingly harder to adapt to this changing reality. Without pragmatic measures involving communities and buttressing local capacity to address fires, the climate crisis will bring risks to the very idea of banking carbon in forests across the mountains, hills and plains.The Amazon fires should remind us of the urgency of formulating policies for least developed countries like Nepal, policies that emphasise building institutional capacity backed by resources to deal with potential large-scale forest fires. Without this effort, the past success of Nepal’s community forestry programs could be in serious peril.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-kathmandus-historic-roofscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Protecting Kathmandu’s historic roofscape</a>, Anne Feenstra<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tourism-aviation-and-carbon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tourism, aviation, and carbon</a>, Sanghamitra Subba<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-summit-leads-packed-un-agenda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate Summit leads packed UN agenda</a>, Thalif DeenAjaya Dixit is research adviser at the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET-Nepal) and contributes this column Climate for Change monthly.  This story is part of <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-joins-to-cover-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covering Climate Now</a>, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

It's a jungle out there in Nepal and the Amazon

<img width="1400" height="482" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a42669c7e80680e04a6d0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Despite public awareness and relentless media coverage, Kathmandu’s air quality has worsened in the past two years. But public outrage does not seem to translate into action to clean up the air.A road-widening spree, earthquake destruction and delays in fixing streets dug up to replace water mains has turned the Valley into a dust bowl. There has also been a 25% increase in the number of vehicles on the roads.The theme for World Environment Day (5 June) is #BeatAirPollution. China will be the host nation and will showcase its dramatic progress in cutting pollution.In Nepal, 35,000 people die annually due to illnesses caused by polluted air. Average life expectancy is reduced by at least four years in the worst-affected areas like Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan and other parts of the Tarai. “Air pollution is a silent killer and while it is difficult to quantify its heath impact, hospitalisation due to serious respiratory diseases has increased sharply in recent years,” says chest specialist Raju Pangeni at HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu. “It is now causing heart attacks, kidney diseases, osteoporosis and dementia. Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking cigarettes.”Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27454&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Beat Air Pollution</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27475&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha GurungNon-smokers in Kathmandu are now suffering from diseases that you would expect to see afflicting chain smokers. And residents of the capital who smoke get a double whammy.“Controlling tobacco in Nepal is already such a big challenge, but  Kathmandu’s degrading air quality has doubled the disease burden,” says health activist Shanta Lall Mulmi. Ironically, World No Tobacco Day falls on 31 May, just four days ahead of Environment Day. Because Nepal’s national government and municipalities have done little to reduce risk, citizens have adopted their own methods of personal protection: wearing masks, installing air purifiers at home and office, cancelling morning walks, and monitoring air pollution levels on apps before allowing children to play outside.There are dozens of varieties of masks available in the market, along with air purifiers that cost more than Rs130,000. But public health specialists discount their efficacy and stress that the best solution is to reduce air pollution at sources.  Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27476&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toxic bubble</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15px; outline: 0px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27467&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bad Air</a>“A mask at best is a temporary solution and does not block harmful gases. Their effectiveness also varies depending on the work place, environment and fitting. Because indoor air pollution levels are also high, ideally you would have to wear a mask 24 hours a day,” says Pangeni. Air pollution is also the main environmental risk factor for non-communicable diseases like cancers and lung diseases, concludes a recent report by the NCD Alliance and the Forum of International Respiratory Scientists: ‘The challenge is great, but the cure is straight-forward... it must be met by national, regional, local and personal responses. Collective action from many sectors is needed to assure that everyone can breathe clean air.’Indeed, a long-term solution requires policy level intervention and coordination between all branches of government. Electrified public transport would have been a good place to start, but 6 months after Prime Minister KP Oli launched an electric mobility action plan to turn at least 20% of public vehicles into battery-operated ones by 2020, progress has been slow. Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil Chitrakar<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Poisoning the air we breathe,</a> Sonia AwaleThe government slashed taxes on electric vehicles, but much of the supporting infrastructure required, like charging facilities, uninterrupted electric supply and adequate parking lots, has not even been planned.“The first step in controlling air pollution is with electric public transport because vehicular emissions make up the majority of pollutants in Kathmandu’s air,” says environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar.With neighbouring India and China committed to manufacturing only electric automobiles by 2030, Nepal will be forced to go electric. Getting prepared now will make that transition smoother.The US government held a meeting in Kathmandu this month of its embassy staff specialising in air pollution based in 30 Asian countries. On hand was Marcia Bernicat of the US Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs. “Dealing with a problem that is transboundary in nature requires strong regional cooperation,” she said. “When you can frame the problem in terms of how many people are dying and how much productivity is lost, then it becomes much more urgent.”Quantifying the socio-economic impact of air pollution on a country will be vital in raising awareness among the public as well as policy makers and leaders, but as we have seen in Nepal it does not immediately lead to policy change.   Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27487&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One Atmosphere</a>, Arnico Pandey<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27462&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green sticker = green light to pollute</a>, Sonam Choekyi Lama <h2>Maskmandu</h2> There are dozens of types of masks available in Kathmandu. There are cloth masks and surgical ones, some are disposable but many use replaceable filters. Prices range from Rs10 to Rs10,500. Most make various performance claims based on lab tests but factors like the mask’s fit play important roles. Take your pick, but remember the best thing is to reduce the source of pollution.  <img width="2228" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a42689c7e80680e04a6d1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2724" height="1800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a426b9c7e80680e04a6d2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><h2>Costly is not better</h2> Researchers at the University of Edinburgh recently concluded that surgical masks blocked 80% of particles sized 0.007 microns. Similarly, a University of Massachusetts study found that the good old surgical mask blocked 60% of 0.03 micron particles, and over 90% of 1 micron and 2.5 micron particles. Of course, a mask’s effectiveness depends on how well it fits on the face, but a simple, disposable surgical mask can be more cost-effective than those fancy looking expensive ones.

Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a42499c7e80680e04a6c5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Pic: MONICA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>A <a href="https://airsouthasia.org/2019/06/04/nepal-air-pollution-perception-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public perception survey</a> among Kathmandu Valley residents conducted last year shows near unanimous agreement that pollution levels are bad and getting worse. The survey was conducted via social media and asked residents of Kathmandu Valley about the pollution level in their neighbourhood, their commuting habits and their perspective on actions needed to improve air quality.Carried out by Air South Asia and Clean Up Nepal, the survey results understandably show that with a few outliers, most people living inside the Ring Road found the air they breathe Bad or Very Bad. Generally, the air was considered to be cleaner the further the respondents lived from the city core. However, the perception of air pollution was worse along busy intersections outside the centre, like Chabahil, Kalanki or Koteswor.Only along the foothills, in Mata Tirtha, Budanilkantha or Changu Narayan, did people feel the air quality was better. And there was only respondent (in Godavari) among 212 interviewed who considered air quality to be Excellent.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil Chitrakar<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27475&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha GurungAsked to answer if air pollution had diminished their quality of life, 99% of respondents said it had. Asked how, most noted respiratory problems, chronic cough, sore throat, asthma attacks, lack of concentration and skin rashes, while other complained of clothes getting dirty. Interestingly, some included foul smell from nearby streams as ‘air pollution’, and said the stench was ‘unbearable’. Some said they did not take morning walks anymore, or venture into the streets during rush hour, and if they did, always wore masks.“Having fresh air to breathe is a human being’s most basic right and that right has been violated to an unimaginable extent in Kathmandu,” said one Naya Bazar respondent.Asked what they think are the main sources of air pollution in their area, more than 90% cited road-side dust caused by widening and delayed construction, vehicle pollution and open garbage burning. (see graph) Many noted that open spaces were shrinking, trees were being cut and plastic waste was burnt openly on streets. Outside the Ring Road, many of the complaints were about brick kilns and factories emitting smoke.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27487&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One Atmosphere</a>, Arnico Pandey<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27563&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking</a>, Sonia Awale<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a424c9c7e80680e04a6c6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="889" height="810">Asked how they were coping with air pollution, most said they wear masks when outdoors and have cut down on going out for walks. Many said they now use public transport, avoid motorcycles, plant trees or take part in cleanup campaigns. Asked why they have not taken measures to reduce air pollution some said it was too large a problem and one individual’s action would not make a difference. Even those who wanted to contribute said they did not know how they could help reduce air pollution.Many were of the opinion that the government had not done enough to reduce pollution, and among their realistic and do-able suggestions for improving air quality were:Better public transportSubsidy for electric vehiclesTimely completion of road constructionTree plantingProper waste managementRelocation of brick kilns“If the dust from the roads is minimised, half the pollution problem will be solved,” felt one survey respondent in Maitidevi. However, when asked if they were satisfied with the government’s actions to date to control air pollution, a majority (84%) said they were not satisfied at all, and no one (0%) said they were satisfied to a large extent. (see chart) Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27476&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toxic bubble</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27454&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Beat Air Pollution</a>, EditorialAccording to one resident of Bhaisepati: “The government could do lots more, but it is not willing to do anything although it has plenty of funds. They should get real experts to work on this problem.”Air pollution in Kathmandu appears to have got so bad that it is affecting people’s choice of where to live. This could ultimately reduce land prices along areas considered heavily polluted. Kathmandu residents who can afford it have already bought farms in surrounding districts, which have been sold by villagers moving in the opposite direction to Kathmandu, or abroad. Many say they are fleeing air pollution in the Valley. Indeed, some respondents even said they are thinking of relocating outside the capital, or even emigrating because of the bad air.Some, like this respondent in Thapathali, even noted that the family’s medical expenses had shot up because of medical treatment for respiratory ailments: “The air quality is getting worse compared to previous years. The air we breathe mainly contains particulates that are inhaled and affect our respiratory system. We are suffering from frequent headaches and eye irritation. We have to spend a lot of money on expensive medicines. If the air quality improved, we could use the money for recreational activities to improve our physical fitness and mental health.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27462&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green sticker = green light to pollute</a>, Sonam Choekyi Lama<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Poisoning the air we breathe,</a> Sonia Awale

Bad Air

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Sv3a2LjxoVehicle owners in Kathmandu need to pass an annual emission test, but many just buy Green Stickers over the counter while some even have them home delivered.Given the number of diesel buses and trucks spewing toxic black smoke in Kathmandu, it is no surprise that most drivers cheat. Lackadaisical and time-consuming inspection, corruption and the lack of political will have made a mockery of Nepal’s strict emission standards.The 2003 standards require four-wheelers registered in 1980 or before to emit carbon monoxide (CO) less than 4.5% of total gases, or not more than 1,000 parts-per-million of hydrocarbons. Vehicles registered after 1980 cannot exceed 3% of CO. If they do, they do not get a Green Sticker. It seems straightforward, but the route to getting dirty vehicles off the road is full of twists and turns.“There is no political will,” sums up the executive director of Sajha Yatayat, Bhusan Tuladhar. “If there was, this system would work perfectly.”Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27476&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toxic bubble</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27563&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking</a>, Sonia AwaleBypassing the system by bribing inspectors is the most common method of getting a Green Sticker. A test costs Rs50, but for Rs500 middlemen will get you a sticker without a test. It is Rs1,000 to have the sticker delivered at home.There are artificial delays and queues at the Department of Transportation Management at (DoTM) Ekanta Kuna to tempt time-pressed vehicle owners to fork out Rs500 for the Green Sticker.“I don’t think keeping the vehicle in line for a week is cost-effective; why wait in a queue? It is much easier to just pay under the table,” admitted Suraj Tamang, a driver at Ekanta Kuna earlier this month.There are just two emission monitoring centres in Kathmandu Valley for more than 400,000 four-wheelers. Up to 200 vehicles visit the DoTM every day, and some eight diesel and four petrol cars fail the test daily on average, said Yam Bahadur Chhetri at the DoTM.If they cannot get the sticker under the table, drivers go to elaborate lengths to pass the test, adjusting the carburettor and then getting a garage to make it a smoke belcher again after they get the sticker. Traffic police rarely check if a car with a Green Sticker still has a smoky tailpipe.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27454&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Beat Air Pollution</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27475&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha Gurung<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a42469c7e80680e04a6c4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="786"/><figcaption>Pic: SONAM CHOEKYI LAMA</figcaption></figure>But with rising awareness about air pollution in Kathmandu and the contribution of vehicular emission, many are asking why if driving under the influence (known by its Nepali acronym MaPaSe) was so easy to control, the same cannot be done for car exhausts.“It can be like MaPaSe — some people sometimes may evade checking, but overall the system will work,” says Tuladhar, who suggests deploying police with emission testers at busy bus terminals like Ratna Park.Tuladhar says 20% of vehicles cause more than 50% of the pollution, so getting rid of half the pollution should be as simple as cleaning up 20% of the cars.But the best solution would be a strategy to switch to electric public and private transport, he adds. All two-wheelers in China are already electric, like 80% of public transport in Hong Kong, and Indian cities like Ahmedabad now have full electric public transportation.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27467&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bad Air</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil Chitrakar

Green sticker = green light to pollute

<img width="1400" height="389" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a424e9c7e80680e04a6c7jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Air quality across Nepal has been deteriorating over the years. The average PM2.5 (concentration of particles smaller than 2.5 microns) in Kathmandu has increased from 88 to 100 µg/m3 between 1990 and 2017. The country needs a sustained and holistic long-term approach, not stop-gap measures, to control the main pollutants from <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/every-breath-you-take-air-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vehicular emissions</a>, waste burning, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dust from roads</a> and construction sites, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/earth-bricks-for-cleaner-and-healthier-kathmandu,4161" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brick kilns</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/no-smoke-without-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cooking with biomass</a>, not stop-gap measures.The national government has taken some action for air pollution mitigation, but most sources are linked to civic and governance issues. For example, open garbage burning as a source of air pollution can only be solved through systematic changes in waste management.Action on air pollution hinges on the availability of reliable information on trends, sources and impacts of pollution. Nepal’s national government has invested in air quality monitoring and currently there are more than 15 monitors across the country, including five real-time monitors in Kathmandu Valley.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15px; outline: 0px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27467&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bad Air</a><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27563&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking</a>, Sonia AwaleReal-time air quality data from these stations is available <a href="http://www.pollution.gov.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online</a> but the website does not support access to historical data. The US Embassy has also set up two air quality monitoring stations in Kathmandu; its hourly results are available live on <a href="http://www.nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.nepalitimes.com/</a>, through the SafaHawa App. Daily averages for every week are also published in the print edition of Nepali Times, and historical data can be <a href="http://www.airnow.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downloaded</a>. Drishti, a citizen-led, low-cost monitoring network, is active in the Valley and publishes daily air quality data.There is a growing body of scientific research on trends in air quality, sources of air pollution and possible impacts on health. Innovations are allowing access to large, open datasets, which in turn are being used to design effective policies. In line with global developments, the demand for and use of open data has grown significantly in Nepal, and organisations such as <a href="https://np.okfn.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Open Knowledge Nepal</a> are leading the charge.In India, <a href="http://www.urbanemissions.info/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Urban Emissions</a> is using government statistics available in the public domain as inputs for an air-quality forecasting project, together with satellite data and other open datasets. This is helping to raise awareness and enable cities to tackle local air pollution issues in a targeted manner. In Pakistan, availability of data on air pollution through the <a href="https://twitter.com/pakairquality?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pakistan Air Quality Initiative</a> has enabled conversations around the dinner table in homes, as well as in the country’s courts, leading to proactive measures to tackle air pollution. Through a growing air quality monitoring network and other research data, Nepal is well positioned for effective action on air quality management. Credible air quality data allows advancement of critical scientific knowledge and helps design effective policies and interventions.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27454&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Beat Air Pollution</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil ChitrakarAccess to public data on air pollution, both air quality and energy use, urbanisation patterns and transport can help improve the understanding of patterns of air pollution and influence targeted plans. Availability of data also allows evaluation of effective action to improve air quality, helping us measure our success as well as understand gaps.Availability of open data on air pollution can enhance visual storytelling, ultimately leading to community-level action and innovation. Easy availability of real-time data on air pollution in Kathmandu Valley through apps and the media can enable Nepalis to stay informed about the quality of air they breathe and ultimately help make choices that can lead to cleaner air for all.Unlike many countries facing deteriorating air quality, Nepal is a step ahead. Thanks to the successful establishment of air quality monitoring, there are now research findings about local and regional sources of pollution, seasonal patterns and possible solutions.A good foundation of data to work with has been built; all we need to do is collaborate and work towards solutions to improve air quality.   Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27487&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One Atmosphere</a>, Arnico Pandey<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Poisoning the air we breathe</a>, Sonia AwalePallavi Pant is an air quality scientist and works on air pollution and health issues including research and public engagement projects. Anobha Gurung is an environmental health scientist who has worked on issues related to air pollution and health in Nepal for the last 10 years. Amod Karmacharya of Cleanup Nepal also took part in the research.

Solution to pollution

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a42639c7e80680e04a6cfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="647"/><figcaption>Pic: ARNICO PANDAY</figcaption></figure>The global theme for this year’s World Environment Day on 5 June is air pollution — very apt in a year that saw the release of three major reports that together clarify that the causes and solutions of air pollution and climate change are intricately interconnected.This information helps citizens, researchers and policy makers perceive ‘one atmosphere’ within which short-lived climate pollutants and longer term carbon dioxide impact the air we breathe. It is within this one atmosphere also that these pollutants aggravate climate change.The flip side of the climate action coin is that <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/every-breath-we-take,305&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiN6t7Awb7iAhVOinAKHRlFDFwQFjAAegQIBRAB&amp;usg=AOvVaw3_5jW6Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">air pollution worsens our climate crisis</a>. Black carbon, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ozone</a> and other climate-impacting pollutants contribute to additional temperature increase beyond that caused by long-lived carbon dioxide. Our glaciers are melting faster because of air pollutants. Pollutants also profoundly impact the monsoon, and several recent severe flooding events in both of Nepal’s neighbouring countries have been attributed to air pollutants modifying clouds, changing how much rain fell where and when.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27563&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking</a>, Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27454&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Beat Air Pollution</a>, EditorialThe IPCC’s <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees</a>, released in October 2018, raises the alarm that concerted and rapid action is needed to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change that will occur if global average temperature increase exceeds 1.5C. This is the report that inspired <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/11/greta-thunberg-schoolgirl-climate-change-warrior-some-people-can-let-things-go-i-cant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Greta Thunberg</a> and other students to go on climate strike demanding that climate emergencies be declared. As those strikes articulate, climate action must occur over the next decade or it will be too late. This will require reducing not just carbon dioxide emissions, but also short-lived climate pollutants.<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-92288-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment</a> released in February 2019 by ICIMOD, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjV2Ji8yr7iAhXNknAKHepBCmQQFjAAegQIAxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0EwrjcwqI8N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">summarises the current state of knowledge</a> about changes, vulnerabilities and risks faced by the Himalayan region, as well as opportunities in clean energy and other sectors. High mountain areas warm faster, so even a 1.5C global average temperature increase implies a 1.8C-2.2C increase in the Himalaya, with a loss of one-third of glacier volume.The Himalaya is often called the ‘Third Pole’ because it is the world’s third largest store of frozen water. But that store is dwindling rapidly, which in turn impacts water and food security. The report also describes the affects of extreme air pollution on people’s health, as well as on surface temperature, agriculture and the monsoon rains.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27467&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bad Air</a><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27475&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha GurungFor every 100,000 people, 100-200 die from air pollution each year in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. Out of 51 cities in the region in the WHO air quality database, 50 have air pollution levels above recommended guidelines: 12 have levels more than 10 times above the guidelines.A third assessment report points to the solutions<a href="https://ccacoalition.org/en/file/4413/download?token=cpV0d7ly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">. Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific: Science-Based Solutions</a> was released by UN Environment in January 2019 and identified the 25 most promising measures to reduce both air pollution and climate change in Asia. These include:scaling up enforcement of vehicular emission standards and post-combustion controls in industries;implementing next-stage measures that are not yet major components of clean air policies, such as preventing forest fires, reducing burning of agricultural crop residue and improving brick kiln efficiency;setting priority goals that have benefits for the atmosphere, such as switching to clean cooking and heating, increasing power generation by renewable sources, improving public transport and reducing leakage in oil and gas production.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil Chitrakar<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27462&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green sticker = green light to pollute</a>, Sonam Choekyi LamaImplemented together by 2030, these 25 measures could allow much of Asia’s population to breathe clean air, while contributing to a reduction in average global temperature increase. The three reports provide a coherent narrative of the interconnectedness of air quality and climate issues in our region and beyond, of the cost of inaction and of available solutions.The problems and solutions of air pollution and climate change are interconnected: they are both related to human interaction with the atmosphere over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. The challenge before us is to address these multi-sector, multi-scale issues in a coordinated manner. We can learn from others by looking at how <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/air-pollution-mexico-city-lessons-for-kathmandu,805&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiN6t7Awb7iAhVOinAKHRlFDFwQFjACegQIEBAB&amp;usg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mexico City</a> and Beijing have reduced their air pollution in a short time.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27476&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toxic bubble</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Poisoning the air we breathe,</a> Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/air-quality-data-to-figire-out-what-to-do,841&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiN6t7Awb7iAhVOinAKHRlFDFwQFjAIegQIAxAB&amp;u" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arnico Panday</a> is <a href="http://www.icimod.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ICIMOD</a>’s Senior Atmospheric Scientist and the coordinator of its Atmosphere Initiative.arnico.panday@icimod.org

One Atmosphere

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121148/636a42509c7e80680e04a6c8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1094"/><figcaption>Pic: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu is the centre of everything in Nepal: power, administration, public education, tourism, hospitals. Till the late 1970s, the Valley’s built-up areas coalesced around historical settlements. After the 1990, the cities saw exponential growth, a process accelerated by war and declining agriculture in the countryside. Lack of jobs drove Nepalis first to Kathmandu and then overseas. The remittances that workers abroad sent back in turn fuelled the Valley’s real estate boom.Urbanisation, unplanned growth, lack of public transport and endemic corruption have enveloped Kathmandu Valley in a smog blanket most days. Nearly 38% of this air pollution is from vehicle emissions; other sources include dust from roads, excavations, debris of demolished buildings, construction sites, brick kilns, open burning of plastic and solid wastes, inefficient hospital incinerators, rice husk/coal/wood-burning industries, crushers and mixers, asphalt plants and metal and automobile repair units.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27462&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green sticker = green light to pollute</a>, Sonam Choekyi Lama<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27455&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to clean up Kathmandu’s air</a>, Anil ChitrakarThe World Health Organization says the mean annual and 24-hour concentration of PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter) in the air should be less than 10µg/m3 and 25µg/m3 respectively. In Kathmandu Valley, both parameters are much higher year-long, and the capital is among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world.Air pollutants also blow in from north India, making the problem a transboundary one. Exhaust from commercial jets and short-haul aircraft contribute too, but is overlooked. Once inhaled, the fine particulates are carried via the bloodstream to our cells, where they can cause strokes, dementia, mental retardation, pulmonary disease and cancer.The pollution is directly related to poor governance — procedural lapses, almost non-existent regulation and enforcement, and a system of national, provincial and municipal governments either incapable or too steeped in greed to deal with it.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27487&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One Atmosphere</a>, Arnico Pandey<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27454&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Beat Air Pollution</a>, EditorialThe overall outcome has been the growth of a concrete jungle without any form, aesthetics or character, with polluted water, land and air as by-products. Not only does Kathmandu have a serious air pollution problem, but its summer days are now urban heat islands because open spaces have been built over.Residents of the capital know they have a problem: they breathe it every day. Politicians and bureaucrats are also aware. Yet public outrage is not translating into action. The best way to end air pollution is to begin with its source. This year, Nepal’s petroleum import bill is likely to exceed Rs220 billion, double the amount three years ago.A year ago, the government gave a positive signal by reducing customs on the import of electric cars and buses to 10% and 1% respectively. All electric vehicles are now also exempt from annual road tax. This is not enough. Despite the tax rebate, Kathmandu has no operating electric buses because of the high upfront cost, although they bring multiple, long-term benefits: zero emissions, improved health, use of indigenous hydro energy and lower fuel import bills.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27563&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air pollution is more dangerous than smoking</a>, Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27475&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Solution to pollution</a>, Pallavi Pant and Anobha GurungMore than 500 electric cars and 1,500 electric scooters now use the Valley’s roads. About 12,000 e-rickshaws ply in Tarai towns. Electric transport, including charging stations, must be part of the urban future, with pedestrian walkways, bicycle lanes, open spaces and green belts as other key elements.In the meantime, the government must proactively pursue low-hanging fruit, such as requiring interagency coordination to minimise roadside dust, banning the burning of plastic and solid waste, and working with households, the private sector and citizen groups to minimise air pollution. Other immediate actions should include rigorous pollution test of vehicles and fuel quality, improving the condition of roadside workshops and making brick kilns and incinerators more efficient.These pursuits would require mapping of pollution sources, monitoring, data analysis, adaptive policies and demonstrable actions. Understanding the policies that neighbouring countries are implementing to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles is needed to avoid the risks of Nepal becoming their dumping ground.As we take these measures, let us place images of our children in front of us, as a reminder that actions taken today will save their health and that of their children.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27467&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bad Air</a><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=27476&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toxic bubble</a>, Ajaya DixitAjaya Dixit is Executive Director of Kathmandu based ISET-Nepal. His monthly column, Climate for Change, deals with the impact of global warming in Nepal.

Toxic bubble

Born in Khandbari in eastern Nepal, Parashuram Pathak helped his family around the farm, sold what they grew in the market and lent a hand in the kitchen.&nbsp; After working as a chef in Dubai, San Francisco, Denmark, Australia, and on cruise ships, Pathak has now brought back what he has learnt to the Tusa Restaurant in Bhaktapur that opened on Nepali New Year on 13 April. Tusa uses fresh indigenous ingredients from various parts of Nepal, and fuses them with international methods to produce unique dishes. Pathak is a global Nepali, and is introducing global Nepali cuisine to his homeland. Pathak left an executive chef job to intern at three-Michelin-starred Noma in Denmark, named the best restaurant in the world five times. Noma runs on a philosophy of foraging to rediscover wild local ingredients, and Tusa’s mission is similarly noble: preparing dishes with Nepali ingredients using modern techniques and equipment. “We are taking Nepali food beyond dal-bhat and momo, we are taking it international,” Pathak said on the phone from Sydney. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-baker-rises-to-the-top-in-denmark">Denmark’s best baker is a Nepali</a>, Vishad Onta  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a" data-rendition-name="original" width="801" height="802" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photo: PARASHURAM PATHAK/FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  Pathak’s team in Nepal includes chefs Rupesh Bohara and Sagar Shrestha who have also worked extensively in Dubai and Australia, and share his vision. The three realised they shared the same dream, and over the past five years have travelled across Nepal to research their menu, collecting ingredients and ideas from homestays, food carts, and nature. The team then scouted for Nepal’s best architect, and zeroed in on Bhaktapur-based heritage conservationist Rabindra Puri who designed the Malla-era house for Tusa in the Nag Pokhari neighbourhood. Bohara and Shrestha have moved back to Nepal for good, and Pathak arrives in September. “I made dishes from all over the world, but when someone asked what Nepali food was like, I had no answer,” says Bohara, “I came back to find out.” &nbsp;“You can get citizenship, a green card, big houses and cars, but where is the self-satisfaction?” asks Shrestha, who has a red-and-blue chef’s knife with the sun and moon of the Nepali flag tattooed on his right forearm.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/the-return-of-a-master-baker"> The return of a master baker</a>, Raju Pakhrin  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photos: TUSA</figcaption> </figure>  Bohara and Shrestha passionately recount stories of their trips across Nepal, speaking of generous lodge owners who introduced them to local ingredients. Tusa can seat 28, and dining here is a sensory experience with a live kitchen. The chefs cook and place dishes on a large granite countertop with induction sections built in. Behind the counter is a grill on an indoor fire with pulley control to adjust the fire. Everything that can be made in Nepal — chairs and tables, ceramic dishes, the grill — is locally sourced. The executive kitchen/laboratory is downstairs. It is spacious, spotless, and contains appliances rarely seen in restaurants here: a sous vide machine that cooks vacuum-sealed packets at consistent temperatures, and a dehydrator for sisnu nettles. A fresh batch of deep purple kimbu (mulberry) muffins has just come out of the oven. Fridges have dry-aged fish and marigold kombucha. Fermentation seems to be the theme at Tusa, and Pathak explained: “Fermentation takes away the natural sugars in food, leaving behind a true, umami taste.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/vikings-khukri-passion">Viking's khukri passion</a>, Alisha Sijapati  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89" data-rendition-name="original" width="5895" height="3930" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> </figure>  Tusa itself means ‘shoot’ in Nepali, and can be a dish of fermented bamboo shoots. The restaurant serves a tasting menu with six courses, plus surprises. It starts with a fermented potato and millet roti with charred green garlic and tomato chutney. The bread tastes like a mix of alu paratha and kodoko roti with a satisfying, mild flavour. The chefs do not show off, and overdo it. Dishes are tastefully simple and faithful, a theme that runs through the meal. The second course is a filet of fish charred on one side and placed in a broth. It is delicate and smokey, and does not mask the character of the fish.&nbsp; The next is Batuk Chukauni, a Magar dish with a lentil snack and a yoghurt-based potato achar. The batuk, made of lentil batter, is light and the chukauni has potatoes and peas. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/money-is-not-everything-but-you-need-money-for-everything">"Money is not everything, but you need money for everything"</a>, Rohit Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Batuk Chukauni. Photo: VISHAD ONTA</figcaption> </figure>  Next is a skewer of jackfruit with a tamarind and mustard glaze that has the texture of a slice of sausage and melts in the mouth. Then comes the first off-menu item: a steak of watermelon, glazed and grilled, tasting sweet, sour and smokey. After that a palate cleanser sorbet made with laligurans syrup adorned with a frozen candied rhododendron petal. Finally the main course: barbeque chicken and chyakla coarse corn grits. The chicken has been brined, marinated, cooked sous-vide and seared on the grill. The delicate consistency of the chicken stands out. Desert is a smooth, creamy cheesecake that uses the local juju-dhau yoghurt. And the last course is a moist, moss-green sisnu cake laced with mulberry jam and cream.&nbsp; There is nothing gimmicky about Tusa. It is the coming together of skilled Nepalis with international exposure who have mixed what they have learnt abroad with the flavours of home.&nbsp; The tasting menu is Rs3,500, and it may take some time before Nepalis develop a predilection for some of its items. The chefs are excited, vindicated, and relieved. Coming back to Nepal, uprooting successful careers abroad to take a chance on Nepal must not have been easy.&nbsp; Tusa had a soft launch on New Year’s day with Kathmandu-based diplomats. Australian Ambassador Felicity Volk was one of them, and wrote on a Facebook post: ‘Chefs who honed their skills in Australia and returned to Nepal to give back. We call it fine dining, they call it #cominghome.’ Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-baker-of-barpak">The baker of Barpak</a>, Tara Aryal Pandey

The return of the natives

For a year or two after the 25 April 2015 earthquake, the residents of Kathmandu were too terrified to return to their high-rise apartments. None of them collapsed in the 7.8 disaster, but many sustained serious structural damage. &nbsp;
Fast forward nine years, and they have all but forgotten that frightful day. Kathmandu is back to building substandard structures, even as land prices drive developers to build taller.&nbsp;
With no more space to spread horizontally, Kathmandu is going vertical. But structural engineers say most of the high rises do not take into account seismicity, soil condition, construction methods, quality of raw materials, fire hazard, and search and rescue in collapsed concrete structures.
“Much of our focus since the 2015 earthquake has been on building and construction, but not as much on where we are building,” warns Sangeeta Singh, Professor of Urban Planning and Deputy Director of Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
She adds: “Kathmandu is not really suited for high-rises. We have to first test the condition of the soil, but building permits are being issued without this fundamental step.”
Kathmandu Valley is a former lakebed with soft topsoil prone to liquefaction and excessive shaking, as seen during the 1934 megaquake. Many ruptures tore up the surface in 2015. &nbsp;
During an earthquake, the rock layers below Kathmandu ring like a bell and the vibrations on the surface take between 0.5 to 2 seconds for one oscillation. Buildings also vibrate, but at different frequencies depending on their height, construction material, and arrangement of their structural components.
At five floors, the vibration period of a building is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as that for Kathmandu Valley, and this could cause more damage, says structural engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha at the National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).
“Building anything that is five storeys or higher in Kathmandu needs special design and structural considerations,” says Shrestha.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial
Technologies exist to reduce seismic risk in high-rises, and these are used in earthquake-prone cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta or Mexico City.&nbsp;
Base isolation, for example, separates the vibration of the land and the building, reducing damage from soil-building resonance. Base isolators move and stretch under pressure, absorbing much of an earthquake's impact by reducing swaying and shaking. &nbsp;
Seismic dampers change the pattern of vibration altogether, dissipating energy as vibrations move across a structure. But these are all expensive technologies, and none of the high-rises in Kathmandu use them.
However, Nepali engineers who can help with technology transfer are working in the field in Nepal and overseas. Kathmandu’s high-rises are already very expensive, and making them seismic-resistant would be an incremental cost.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">Learning from Jajarkot what we didn't after 2015</a>, Sushil Gyewali
The shape of high-rises also matters. Reinforced concrete buildings with asymmetric designs of the kind that are seen in newer structures in Kathmandu experience more torsion and shear during quakes. High-rises with regular geometry are stronger. &nbsp;&nbsp;
An even bigger concern is that of emergency evacuation and rescue in case of fire or earthquake. Kathmandu fire services do not have ladders that reach the higher floors of most new structures.
“High-rises mean more people and potentially higher casualties,” explains Shrestha. “We need immediate evacuation routes, fire escapes, emergency ladders, and fire trucks that can reach higher. Right now, safety features are voluntary and not mandatory.”
The street access, shelters, open spaces, and evacuation routes are integral to disaster preparedness and the safety of neighbourhoods and not just buildings. Most new high-rises in Kathmandu have narrow access roads.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel
Since most of the buildings that survived the 2015 disaster were reinforced concrete structures, it fed the misconception that they are safer. But Himalayan seismologists say that if the intensity and duration of the shaking had been just a little higher, many substandard concrete structures would have collapsed.&nbsp;
And that is the final gap: Nepal’s limited expertise and equipment for search and rescue inside collapsed concrete structures. Kathmandu’s high-rises need to be better prepared for the next Big One.
“Structural safety and design were at the front and the centre after the 2015 earthquake, we also revised some building codes but we are back to square one with contractor-driven construction, especially in peri-urban areas,” says Sangeeta Singh, who is also with the National Planning Commission. “We need to monitor construction as much as design.”&nbsp;
Shrestha at NSET agrees there have been improvements in building practices in the past nine years, but adds, “We have both learnt and unlearnt lessons from 2015. The awareness hasn’t yet translated into action on safety.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">Lessons not learned from 2015</a>, Sonia Awale

The rise of high-rises

For Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal the past week has been eventful in more ways than one. His Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s troubles is shaking the coalition, and there are rumours of the NC and the UML in talks. By-elections in Ilam and Bajhang are set to become a referendum on legacy parties.&nbsp;
In the midst of all this, there was the overnight state visit of the emir of Qatar which was so epic the government declared a national holiday. Qatar and Nepal signed a commerce agreement, and to sweeten the deal the emir was gifted two elephants.&nbsp;
The Qatari visit set the stage for the third Nepal Investment Summit on 28-29 April that will showcase 150 projects for potential investors, including schemes for hydropower, transport, tourism, and agriculture.
Previous investment summits in 2017 and 2019 pledged $13.5 billion and $17 billion respectively, of which not much ever materialised. This time, the investment climate is worse because of political instability, too few laws, and too much red tape. &nbsp;
“The state of Nepal’s economy, combined with bureaucratic hurdles and the challenges faced by foreign investors in land and resource acquisition, has made attracting FDI difficult,” says Pushkar Bajracharya, formerly of &nbsp;the National Planning Commission.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-looks-at-alternative-investments">Nepal looks at alternative investments</a>, Siddhant Raj Pandey
The same woes from the last two investment summits persist. Nepal has had three coalition governments in the last two years, banks are flush with cash because no one is borrowing, &nbsp;and there is a mass exodus of skilled Nepalis.&nbsp;
“Lack of political stability results in policy instability,” explains economist Posh Raj Pandey. “This is why Nepal’s FDI has not lived up to commitments. Potential investors have decided that internal risk factors outweigh any business opportunities.”&nbsp;
Everyone went to sleep after the last investment summit, and there was little preparation for this hurriedly planned one. Nepal’s private sector has long urged the government to amend laws to improve the investment climate. The government did amend nine out of dozens of laws, but through ordinance on Tuesday. &nbsp;
“What kind of message are we sending to internationals when we amend laws through ordinance rather than Parliament?" asks Pandey. “Amendment will not inspire confidence unless they are put into practice, which we historically have not done.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
While some experts think ordinances speed things up, they admit most legal changes brought to address Nepal's investment environment have been ad hoc and limited to paper.
Forget foreign investors, even domestic businesses face obstacles and corruption. Nepal’s internet service providers (ISPs) and the Nepal Telecommunication Authority are on the warpath.&nbsp;
ISPs have been unable to pay Indian firms that provide &nbsp;bandwidth after the government refused to provide them with INR, citing unpaid royalties and taxes.
Such stonewalling is present in just about every sector, dissuading investors in IT, banking and the service industry. Most investors are in natural resource extraction, which has little value added.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
This time the government is &nbsp;giving investors a shopping list that includes 18 hydropower projects and 19 transport schemes.&nbsp;
“While hydropower may create short-term jobs, efficiency-seeking investment in the manufacturing, agricultural, and other sectors will create more long-term opportunities for Nepalis, and will be in our best interest,” says Pandey. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Although the summit will have attendees from over 50 countries, most potential investors are from India and China.
“Current investment summits seem to be guided by India and China’s vested interest in Nepal rather than the market and economic possibilities here,” notes Bajracharya. However, Nepal can leverage its proximity to hitch its wagons to these two giant locomotives.&nbsp;
Adds Bajracharya “Our long-term prospects look good, because India and China are set to overtake the US as the world's biggest economies over the next few years, which will attract investors from elsewhere. Our immediate goal must be to first create a conducive investment climate. After that, investments will come.” &nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/killing-investment-in-nepal-in-10-easy-steps">Killing investment in Nepal in 10 easy steps</a>, Dibesh Karmacharya

Why invest in Nepal?

Midway along the stretch of the ancient trade route between Tibet and India lies the Kel Tol neighbourhood. The name is derived from the original Koligrām, and it is believed the Koli people, who were originally from Rāmagrām in present-day southern Nepal near the Indian border, settled here. The Koli were the maternal ancestors of none other than the Buddha. Kel Tol is famous for the Buddhist monastic complex of Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar, featuring the majestic two-tiered gilded temple of the white god Karunāmaya.&nbsp; This elaborately decorated courtyard is a bustling centre of the Vajrayāna sect of Buddhism, practised widely by the indigenous Newā people of Kathmandu Valley. Karunāmaya, also known as Ārya Avalokiteshwor, is defined in great detail in the 1st century CE Buddhist text Sadharmapundarikā where he liberates all sentient beings from suffering. He helps rid the eight external fears metaphorically equated with their equivalent internal states of mind: lions (pride), wild elephants (ignorance), fire (anger), snakes (jealousy), floods (attachment), imprisonment (miserliness), thieves (wrong views) and cannibals (doubt).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1338" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  In the Pancha Rakshyā Sutra, a Buddhist scripture from 200 CE, Ārya Avalokiteshwor was counted among the eight major deities. Followers of the Brāhminical god Shiva worship Ārya Avalokiteshwor as Seto Machhindranāth. For Shaivites, Machhindranāth is the Indian saint who founded the Nāth cult in the 10th century CE. He is the guru of saint Gorakhnāth. During the reign of Yakshya Malla (1428–1482 CE), a beautiful image of Ārya Avalokiteshwor was dug up by a farmer in present-day Jamal, which was then a cultivated area outside the city. The farmer, known as a Jamami (meaning the one from Jamal) took the image home for safekeeping. That night, Ārya Avalokiteshwor appeared in the farmer’s dream and told him that the proper place for him to reside is at the confluence of two rivers. The nearest confluence was at present-day Wongha (Indrachok) and the image was installed in the Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar complex in Kel Tol near Wongha. This made it easier for city residents to pay homage to Ārya Avalokiteshwor and spread compassion. Soon, the deity came to be revered highly as Jamaleshwor, the one found in Jamal. Eventually, the name got corrupted, as happens often in Nepāl Bhāsā, to Janabahā Dyo. The courtyard where his temple is located is now popularly known as Janabahā.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The gilded temple of Janabahā Dyo, first built in the early 16th century CE, is adorned with wooden and metal artefacts that symbolise 108 forms of Ārya Avalokiteshwor. It stands out as the most decorated temple of its kind in Kathmandu. Today, Janabahā is a living heritage site where many ancient customs and rituals are widely practised as per Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition. Devotees throng the Janabahā Dyo shrine for daily worship and to receive Karunāmaya’s blessings. Being the compassionate one, Ārya Avalokiteshwor goes around town every year in his tall wooden chariot to allow sick and physically disabled devotees to pay homage to him from the comfort of their homes. One could say it is a door-to-door visit by the Compassionate One.&nbsp; For the pragmatic minded, the chariot festival is an annual renewal of communal harmony, validation of our ancient mathematical supremacy and demonstration of the need to keep practical skills alive, including the craft of building earthquake resilient houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The Janabahā Dyo chariot is pulled from Jamal, where his image was found by the farmer, through the historic heart of Kathmandu in a gala parade every year. The procession, accompanied by folk music ensembles and revellers, starts on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra, and lasts up to a week (ending on Saturday this year). Hundreds of devotees pull the chariot along the streets as a way of expressing their gratitude to lord Karunāmaya for blessing them with compassion and well-being. Purna Ratna Vajrāchārya is an ordained priest who belongs to the clan responsible for taking care of Janabahā Dyo. He has been studying the design and architecture of the chariot for the past 40 years, and overseeing its construction for the past 15. He has learnt that the engineering principles of building the chariot are based on the mathematical system in which Buddhism is taught. For example, 365 pieces of wood are used in the chariot, each representing a day of the year. Each of the four wheels consist of 25 pieces of wood, totalling 100, representing completeness or fulfilment. The chariot is vertically divided into 13 sections, a parallel to the Buddhist concept of Trayodashi Bhuvana that describes the 13 steps that one must take to achieve the state of Nirvana.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563" data-rendition-name="original" width="1668" height="2500" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  &nbsp;Exactly nine types of wood are used, which is the sum of the four base elements that make up the universe (earth, water, fire and air) and the five human senses. The height and length of the chariot is 32 arm’s length (hāt in Sanskrit), 14.8m. The number 32 represents the maximum number of auspicious and physical qualities one could possess to be considered an outstanding human being.&nbsp; Says Vajrācharya, “Observing how the chariot is built helps one learn the fundamental pillars of the Buddha’s teachings, and find an easier path to Nirvana.” The structural design of the nearly 15m wooden chariot is not only awe-inspiring but also gravity-defying. It leverages the pliancy of the materials used in its construction -- flexible joints tied with cane soaked in water for several days. The precise proportions of the chariot ensure great manoeuverability in the narrow streets along the route of the chariot procession that include some 90° bends, without colliding into houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="3750" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  Driving and steering the chariot with brute muscle power of the mirthful crowd is a seemingly impossible task. But this has been achieved year after year, despite the fact that the devotees who tug wildly at the ropes lassoed to the two front wheels, are most likely in high-spirits (pun intended). Sanjay Manandhar, a US-based technology entrepreneur, recounts how his high school physics teacher from Canada asked his students to go observe the locals build the chariots of Karunāmaya if they were interested in becoming engineers in the future.&nbsp; “That made no sense to me then, but, after all these decades, I now see clearly how the structural design of the chariot, adopted early on by our ancestors is full of earthquake-resilient properties that need to be applied in building houses in an earthquake-prone zone like Nepal,” says Manandhar. A highlight of the chariot festival is that human goddess Kumari makes an appearance at the final destination in Lagan, usually on the third day. This is only one of the 13 times that people get to see the Kumari outside her temple abode.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  On the last day of the festival (Saturday), the image of lord Karunāmaya is carried on a palanquin by priests from Janabahā in a gala procession and brought back to his permanent residence at the temple in Kel Tol.&nbsp; The chariot festival is thought to have started during the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kantipur in the 17th century CE. For close to four centuries, the construction of the chariot and its operation has proven to be a phenomenal engineering feat, and the people’s faith in divinity means the tradition is alive.&nbsp; The essence of the colourful rituals and the religious beliefs of this ancient chariot festival is now all but lost. The logic, technology and practicality must be brought back to light, as they reflect the high civilisation and wisdom of our ancestors that we can leverage in modern times and into the future. &nbsp; Alok Tuladhar is a culture and heritage documentarian.

smoke