AIR POLLUTION IN HIMALAYAN COUNTRIES

By C K Nayak

Himalayan countries, where more than half of the world’s population lives, are facing one of the worst environmental crises- Air Pollution. Though it is a worldwide problem, these countries- China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal seem to be the worst hit. The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan with much less population is the only exception, where the magnitude is less because of its huge forest cover. Out of a dozen top most polluted countries in the world, five are Himalayan countries- Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal and China, in that order.

It is feared that if the current high levels of pollution continue, the life expectancy of people living in these countries may reduce around five years on an average and more in the most contaminated areas. In India too life expectancy was reduced by five years due to polluted air as per a recent as per a new study by the University of Chicago. Other countries, including China, face a similar predicament though to a lesser extent.

Air pollution has large impacts on the Himalayas itself, affecting not just the health of people and other living beings, but also climate, the cryosphere, monsoon patterns and water availability. It is an irony that right now some of the Himalayan countries like India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are undergoing severe heat waves in many parts, breaking records of the century. On the contrary, the eastern Himalayas consisting of Northeast and partially eastern part India is deluged with abnormal rains. This has caused floods and massive landslides killing people and throwing life out of gear.

Although the available data show that the Himalayas receive significant amounts of air pollution from within and outside of the region too, including the Indo- Gangetic Plain (IGP), a region where many rural areas are severely polluted. In addition, the Himalayas receive trans-boundary pollution from other parts of Asia. The Himalayan region is fragile and rapidly changing. While the outcome of the interplay of complex drivers is difficult to predict, it will have major consequences. This holds true for air pollution as well. The causes include rapid urbanization and population growth, with emissions from diverse sources—cook stoves, brick kilns, other industries, power plants, and transport.

The major river systems that originate from these mountain ranges –Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra provide a lifeline to millions of people downstream. Recent evidence suggests that black carbon deposits – soot, are also compounding the effects of climate change to accelerate glacier melt in the Himalayas.

Globally, Bangladesh is the most polluted country, Pakistan is ranked third, India fifth, Nepal tenth, and so on. There are questions over the ranking being two to three notches higher or lower, but the fact remains that these Asian countries have the most polluted air. India’s neighbours, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and China are also reeling from air pollution, reducing life expectancies. Bringing particle concentrations down to the WHO limit would enhance average life expectancy in all these Himalayan countries where pollution levels are substantially high.

In Pakistan, the cause of air pollution are attributed to emissions from vehicles, industrial activity such as brick kilns, factories, and power plants, and crop burning. In the case of Afghanistan, sources include old cars, poor quality fuel, and people burning trash, industrial brick kilns, small-scale smelting plants and foundries. That’s in addition to pollution coming from bakeries, restaurants and wedding halls as well as power plants, generators, household cooking stoves and heaters.

In recent years, air pollution in Nepal has become a serious environmental and public health risk, with pollution levels 4.9 times higher than recommended by the WHO. Deteriorating air quality in Kathmandu is putting hundreds of thousands of Nepalese at risk of several health problems. In the landlocked Kathmandu automobile exhaust and vehicular emissions are the major sources of air pollution. Besides these, construction and domestic sources also pollute the urban environment. Large increase in the number of automobiles has created an alarming air pollution problem. The air quality in Bhutan is often regarded as pristine. However, the statistics of the National Environment Commission (NEC) reveals that air pollution is emerging to be a major concern, posing risk to human health and environment. During winters, the air quality in Bhutan also worsens due to increasing use of firewood, forest fires and burning of agriculture debris.

Particulate pollution kills more people than communicable diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, smoking and even conflicts. Particulate Matter (PM) refers to solid and liquid particles suspended in the air, such as soot, smoke, and dust. PM particles enter the respiratory system along with the oxygen that the body requires when the air is polluted with them. When PM is inhaled by the nose or mouth, the fate of each particle is determined by its size: the finer the particles, the deeper they penetrate into the body. PM10 particles, which have a diameter of less than 10 micrometers (m) and are included in estimates of “total suspended matter” (TSP), are small enough to pass through the nasal hairs.

They proceed through the respiratory tract and into the lungs, where the metal elements on the particles’ surfaces oxidise lung cells, causing DNA damage and raising cancer risk. It is ironic that not a single country in the whole world could manage to meet the WHO’s 5-microgram standard in 2021, according to a survey of pollution data published earlier this year. Air pollution is known to create several respiratory and heart conditions like asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart attacks and strokes along with cancer, among other threats to the body. Several million are known to have died due to the direct or indirect effects of air pollution.

The most basic solution for air pollution is to move away from fossil fuels, replacing them with alternative energies like solar, wind and geothermal. Producing clean energy is crucial. But equally important is to reduce consumption of energy by adopting responsible habits and using more efficient devices like using public transport than private ones.

Source: Himalayan News Chronicle