Kathmandu Valley Air Quality Improves as Pollution Levels Drop

Air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley, which was high in the morning, is now decreasing. Today afternoon, the air pollution dropped, bringing the Air Quality Index (AQI) down to 87.

Last Tuesday, the valley's AQI reached 191, which then dropped to 114 at the same time on Wednesday. The Department of Environment stated that the air pollution decreased as the wind speed increased.

According to the AQI, Kathmandu, which was listed as the third most polluted city in the world on Tuesday, has now dropped to 28th place today. Currently, Lahore, Pakistan, is in first place, and Kolkata, India, is in second place.

Gyanraj Subedi, Director General of the Department of Environment, informed that air pollution increases during the dry season and decreases when there is rain and wind. "Rain helps to bring dust and particles in the air down to the ground, and the wind carries away the dust and pollution particles, thus reducing pollution," he said. "We have suggested to the concerned bodies to effectively implement sustainable and environmentally friendly development measures."

Environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar suggested that timely preparation, management of leaf litter, control of wildfires, and strict implementation of vehicle emission testing and standards are necessary.

According to the AQI standards, 0 to 50 is considered 'Good' (green signal), 51 to 100 is 'Cautions' (yellow signal), and 101 to 150 falls into the 'Unhealthy' category, which experts say can particularly affect respiratory and heart patients. Environmentalist Tuladhar stated that 151 to 200 is 'Unhealthy for All', 201 to 300 is 'Very Unhealthy', and anything above 300 is considered 'Hazardous'.

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