Feb 20, Kathmandu - Air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley is decreasing. This afternoon, the air pollution has decreased to 99.

The AQI of the valley had reached 191 last Tuesday and had dropped to 114 at the same time on Wednesday. The Department of Environment has stated that air pollution has also decreased with the increase in wind speed.

According to the AQI, Kathmandu was listed as the third most polluted city in the world on Tuesday and has dropped to 18th place today. Currently, Lahore in Pakistan is in first place with an AQI of 373 and Kolkata in India is in second place with an AQI of 186.

Gyanraj Subedi, Director General of the Department of Environment, informed that air pollution increases in dry weather and decreases during rain and wind. “Rain helps in bringing dust and particles in the air to the ground, and when the wind picks up dust and pollution particles, pollution is reduced,” he said, adding, “We have suggested to the concerned bodies to effectively implement sustainable and environment-friendly development measures.”

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

According to the AQI standards, zero to 50 is considered ‘good’ (green indicator), 51 to 100 is ‘be alert’ (yellow indicator), and 101 to 150 is considered ‘unhealthy’, which experts say can especially affect respiratory and heart patients. Environmentalist Tuladhar said that 151 to 200 is considered ‘unhealthy for everyone’, 201 to 300 is considered ‘very unhealthy’, and above 300 is considered ‘extremely dangerous’.