KATHMANDU, Jan 21: The quality of air in the Kathmandu Valley has deteriorated in the evening. The country’s capital city, on Thursday, recorded the highest PM 2.5 reading of 200.87 µg/m3 between 5 PM and 6 PM.

According to the data collected from various pollution monitoring stations installed at 17 different places in the Valley, the dust particles in the air are measured high (160.22μg/m³) in the morning between 9 and 10 and in the evening after 3 PM as people leave for their jobs and return home from the work.

The lowest PM 2.5 reading was measured in the afternoon between 1 and 2 which is far higher than that of the WHO-set standard of 25 μg/m³ and Nepal government-set guidelines of 40 μg/m³.

Kathmandu, one of the most-polluted cities in the world, is the most densely populated city of the country. The Urban Health Initiative (UHI), an on-the-ground pilot program initiated by the WHO, has identified four major sources of air pollution - solid waste, transport, industry/brick kilns, and household energy sectors - in the Kathmandu Valley.

 
• air
 
• air_quality
 
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• Kathmandu