TSI sensor installed in Dhangadhi by Clean Energy Nepal to monitor AQI
Dhangadhi: A new local sensor to monitor the Air Quality Index has been installed at the American Corner of Dhangadhi. The American Corner situated at the Kailali Chamber of Commerce, office has been presented with a new local sensor to monitor the quality of air.
Clean Energy Nepal with the support of the US embassy has implemented a project known as Safe and Clean Air for All. The project aims to nurture local youths to monitor air pollution and spread awareness to curb it.
Clean Energy Nepal recently installed a new low-cost air quality monitor from TSI which is designed to measure PM 2.5 and PM 10 on a hyper-local level. The new monitor from TSI updates the Air Quality Index every 15 seconds.
According to experts from Clean Energy Nepal, the month of April marks the highest level of air pollution as most farmers burn their fields. According to the data for 2022; 42,000 fatalities in Nepal occurred due to air pollution; 22% of infant deaths occur due to air pollution; approximately 21,500 people have lost their lives due to household-level air pollution.
The current population of Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan is 2 lakh 4 thousand.
The pollution in the city is increasing day by day making more than 2 lakh 4 thousand people vulnerable to diseases. Air Pollution increases in developing areas due to construction which generates suspended dust particles that increase the PM concentration.
Agricultural burning is also a big contributor to air pollution. Sudurpaschim province has forests and massive lands for agriculture. The program coordinator of Clean Energy Nepal, Barsha Parajuli said, "On considering the overall data of Nepal, we have concluded that the burning of agriculture by-products has increased the air pollution in Terai." Many locals living in the hilly region burn hills to get new grass for cattle grazing, the fire sparked on the hill seldom moves down to the forests in Terai. Forest fires imbalance the ecosystem by destroying various flora and fauna. "On identifying the main source of air pollution Clean Energy Nepal discovered that the first and foremost cause of air pollution in Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan is construction while, the second is vehicle emission, third is solid waste burning, agricultural burning and industrial emission based on the data from April," said program coordinator Barsha Parajuli.
According to the data from June to December last year, air pollution is seldom in control during monsoons because of rain. Nonetheless, it gradually increases during the dry seasons.
"We tried to visit the government site of Dhangadhi to extract some data about air pollution but nothing was available on the website. Similarly, we have data gaps which make it difficult for planning and analysis so, we have now installed TSI sensors to analyze the data. It is small and can be installed in different pocket zones which will help in keeping a record of the data," said program coordinator Barsha Parajuli.
Air pollution is a global problem, 5.5 million deaths are caused by air pollution every year worldwide. According to the data in 2016 ambient air pollution alone caused the global economy 5.7 trillion US dollars which make up up up 4.4% of the global GDP. Most deaths due to air pollution occur in developing countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. In the global list of top 10 countries with the highest air pollution, Nepal usually takes the first or second position. Forty per cent of air pollution in most places in the world is induced by agricultural residue burning.
The practice of burning farmlands has increased in Nepal too. Earlier, people manually harvested crops but, nowadays most people use machines to cut crops which do not remove the stubs of the crops. Hence the common practice adopted by most farmers is burning. A common perception that the burning process increases fertility has caused a severe problem. instead, cattle can be made to eat the stubs on the farmlands to avoid burning.
Almost 50% of Asian countries have PM2.5 concentrations ranging from 62.6 -83.2 ug/m³. Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan are most vulnerable. Air pollution is not only induced by burning but also by decaying, foul smell, gas leakage and production of methane gas. According to 2016 data in every 1 km × 1 km, black carbon emission flux from agriculture residue burning in the Terai region was 90.7%, 6.4% in the hills and 2.9% in the mountains. The residue factor was 66.8% in Terai and 27.7% in the hills. The process of burning generates 8200 kg of pollutants in every 1 square per kilometre. The highest number of pollutants are generated near the Chitwan area.
Nepal is contributing to 2% of air pollution globally through agriculture residue burning.
Trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are the highest pollution generators amongst vehicles. Subsequently, buses, pick-up microbuses and minibuses also add to the pollution. Motorcycles can also increase pollution if they are not serviced regularly. It is important to get your bike serviced every 6 months, routine servicing of one such bike reduces 4 kg bio pollution and PM2.5 yearly. While regular maintenance of heavy-duty vehicles can substantially reduce 40% of the emissions.
What is PM 2.5?
PM 2.5 pertains to a category of particulate pollutants that is 2.5 microns or tinier in size. The regular cross-section of human hair is 50 microns. PM stands for “particulate matter.” The EPA and many health organizations classify particulate matter by size because different size particles have different health consequences.
For instance, PM 10 particles (particles less than 10 microns in size) can irritate your nose and eyes, but fewer of these particles penetrate deep into your lungs, so they do not cause the same health problems that smaller micron particles can, although they do increase rates of respiratory disease [Yu-Fei et al., 2016].
Particles that are 2.5 microns or tinier are analyzed as especially hazardous to human health because they bypass many of our body’s defences. Nose hair, mucus, and other defences work to catch these smaller particles before they enter deeper into our bodies. That said, PM 2.5 particles can get into our lungs, where they can reach the alveoli and eventually enter the bloodstream.
WHO's last year's average guideline was 5 ug/m³ while, the daily average is 2.5ug/m³, but Nepal's guidelines permit a daily average of 40ug/m³.
