The Wire
Features
2 MIN READ
Air pollution has devastating consequences for human health and the environment.
Air pollution has emerged as an important topic in the upcoming elections. Candidates from various parties have pledged to control pollution.
As The Record’s video makes clear, air pollution has devastating consequences for human health and also for the environment. Black carbon absorbs lots of solar energy, contributes to the melting of Himalayan glaciers and also warms up the air, changing rainfall patterns.
Nepal’s air quality is the fourth-worst in the world, according to Yale’s 2016 Environmental Performance Index. Pollution was at its peak during winter and early spring, with the level of PM 2.5 (tiny particles less than 2.5 microns in width) soaring far above World Health Organization standards. Kathmandu’s pollution is primarily caused by vehicle emissions, open burning, coal-fired brick kilns, and fine dust from the valley’s lacustrine soils. Construction of pipe infrastructure for the Melamchi water project has left the city’s streets particularly dusty in recent months.
Several organizations regularly publish data about air pollution, including the US Embassy and the volunteer-run group Drishti Kathmandu.
Cover photo: Sagar Chhetri.
Stephen Groves Stephen Groves is a freelance journalist and photographer who has covered Nepal for four years. He regularly contributes to Public Radio International and GlobalPost.
Features
8 min read
Nepal is going through three mutually reinforcing crises – health, economic, and climate. A green recovery push could help the country climb out of all three in the long run.
COVID19
Features
4 min read
Misinformation regarding the vaccine’s side-effects is spreading and without a concerted counter campaign, such false information will only proliferate.
Perspectives
8 min read
Mayor Balen Shah’s commitment to improving Kathmandu’s solid waste management system is cause for optimism. But there are no overnight solutions, and the spotlight must stay on the issue.
Longreads
Features
34 min read
Chitwan National Park has earned international praise for its conservation successes, but it has also evicted indigeneous communities and upended many local livelihoods.
Interviews
5 min read
Future of the community forest is at stake.
Features
6 min read
As the world heads towards the annual climate conference, Nepal needs to push for more climate financing and support to mitigate outcomes and adapt to climate change.
Photo Essays
1 min read
For the people living besides the Bagmati in Teku, every year the monsoon brings much devastation. And as local authorities do little to help, residents have no one to turn to but themselves.
Perspectives
9 min read
In addition to building resilience against climate change, we must also come to terms with the trauma it leaves us with.