Swiss firm ranks Kathmandu most polluted city in the world

KATHMANDU(Nepal): A Swiss firm, IQAir, has ranked Kathmandu as the most polluted city in the world on Tuesday. As per their website, the city of Kathmandu recorded an AQI of 279, which comes in the range of “very unhealthy”.

According to IQAir, It recorded PM 2.5 at 204.5 ug/m3and PM10 at 233.5 ug/m3.

[{7bcdc512-f906-4b91-b085-3102955e5496:intradmin/ANI-20250408035527.jpg}]

As per IQAir, “PM2.5 concentration is currently 40.9 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value.” The depleting air quality has spiked respiratory difficulty cases at major government hospitals in the valley.

The Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), one of the largest government-run multidisciplinary hospitals, has seen a spike in the number of patients in its OPD (Out-Patient Department).

The Nepali capital, Kathmandu, has an area of 413.69 square kilometres and has become a hotspot of air pollution in the recent decade. According to the 2022 census data, it has a population density of 12,440 square miles and a population of 1,988,606.

Smoke from industries, houses, vehicular emissions, and haphazard waste burning have been contributing to increased pollution. The use of vehicles that have failed emission tests is further fueling the pollutants contributing to industrial smoke.

The Ministry of Health reports that air pollution causes 42,000 deaths in Nepal annually—19 per cent of which are children under five and 27 per cent are individuals over 70. The data indicates that air pollution has decreased the life expectancy of Nepalis by 4.1 per cent. Nepal’s air quality is far worse than the World Health Organization’s safe air standards, making this a growing public health crisis.

Nepal’s air quality is far worse than the World Health Organization’s safe air standards, making this a growing public health crisis.

The city’s air quality has been a major public health problem, causing air pollution-related morbidity and mortality. This places an economic burden on the country due to the loss of productivity and overutilisation of health system resources.

There has also been a lack of health impact assessment data to estimate the health and economic burden of air pollution as well as of the sectoral measures needed to tackle this environmental challenge. (ANI)