KATHMANDU, March 10: The US Embassy in Kathmandu has halted the publication of air pollution data. It has not updated the data from two air quality monitoring stations, one at the embassy premises in Maharajgunj and the other at the Fountain Palace in Kantipath, on its website since Tuesday.
US embassies and consulates worldwide, including in Nepal, provided air pollution data through installed monitoring stations. The US State Department informed the American news agency Associated Press that it discontinued this service due to "financial constraints."
The US State Department stated that it will continue operating the pollution monitoring stations internally within the embassy premises and may resume the data-sharing service once it secures the necessary financial arrangements.
In January, US President Donald Trump, beginning his second term, halted foreign aid across various sectors, including the environment and climate change. The US also shut down the Clean Air Project, which it had been running in Nepal to help control air pollution.
The State of Global Air 2024 reports that air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021, an increase from 7.2 million in 2019. The same report reveals that air pollution leads to the deaths of 48,500 people annually in Nepal. The Air Quality Life Index 2023 report, published by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, shows that air pollution has reduced the average life expectancy of Nepali people by 4.6 years.
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Experts working in the field of air pollution consider the air pollution data shared by the U.S. Embassy significant in terms of "reliability and availability." Environmental expert Bhushan Tuladhar says, "Since most government-connected air pollution monitoring devices are not regularly operational, the data provided by these two stations has been crucial for researchers and the public."
The Department of Environment, under the Ministry of Forests and Environment, has 29 air pollution monitoring stations across the country, but 17 of them are currently non-functional due to lack of maintenance. Only about a dozen stations remain operational.
Environment Inspector Govinda Lamichhane from the Department of Environment stated that the US Embassy's air pollution monitoring stations served as an alternative data source when the government-operated centers were not functioning.
Experts have considered the data from the US Embassy's monitoring stations, especially for measuring ozone gas, to be important. Pollution monitoring stations typically measure various components in the air, including very fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, PM 10), total suspended particulates, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, ozone, and carbon monoxide.
According to Lamichhane, the pollution monitoring station in Ratnapark is capable of measuring ozone, but it has not been functioning effectively. Similarly, the station in Khumaltar, set up with the support of ICIMOD (International Center for Integrated Mountain Development), has failed to release data on ozone emissions.
Experts say that air pollution data, which poses a significant challenge for public health, aids in research, policy-making, and raising public awareness. "Nepal now needs to strengthen its internal pollution monitoring system," states environmental expert Tuladhar.
Shailesh Kumar Jha, Deputy Director General of the Department of Environment, states that preparations are underway to repair the broken air pollution monitoring stations. "Some centers are set to be operational again within this fiscal year, while others will be restored by the next fiscal year," he adds.
Jha stated that the government has started preparations to create a national air quality action plan for pollution control. Currently, the government is implementing the Air Quality Management Action Plan-2076 BS for the Kathmandu Valley. Some experts argue that the action plan alone is insufficient and have called for the creation of a Clean Air Act to protect public health.
Studies have shown that both indoor and outdoor air pollution are contributing to an increase in respiratory diseases, stroke, lung cancer, heart disease, child mortality, and diabetes in Nepal.
In Nepal, the main causes of air pollution include emissions from vehicles fueled by diesel and petrol, smoke from forest fires, smoke from brick kilns, emissions from burning agricultural residues and waste, high pesticide usage, and dust from roads.
