The national capital’s air pollu­tion is so bad we have come to firmly believe that it is, after New Delhi and Beijing, the most polluted city in the world. But according to a revised data­base of the WHO, which uses data from the Nepal Health Research Council, Kathmandu has actually fallen from the #108 most polluted city in the world in 2008 to #261 most polluted city in 2015. Never­theless, Kathmandu’s air pollution level is undeniably high, with our air quality nearly five times worse than the WHO recommended levels. Globally, air pollution causes nearly 5.5 million deaths every year, and not all of them are due to respi­ratory diseases. Eighty percent of air pollution deaths are due to isch­emic heart diseases and strokes, i.e. cardiovascular ailments. The other 20 percent are respiratory (COPD, ALRI, and lung cancer).

 

We have been hearing a lot about the harmful effect of pollution on grown-ups, but how does it affect children and infants who do not leave their homes for the most part?

 

According to paediatrician Dr Nikhil Agarwal of Vayodha Hospital, children are equally, if not more, at risk of contracting respiratory and communicable diseases. “In recent years,” he shares, “there has been a sharp increase in the number of children suffering from air pollu­tion-related illnesses, and it is get­ting harder to treat them.”

 

Since we live in a valley, the warm air that the pollutants would nor­mally escape with stays trapped and grows dense with time, says Hemu Kafle, a scientist at the Kathman­du Institute of Applied Sciences. “Because of this, the same air travels everywhere, and there is no place free of pollution,” she says. In other words, even if you live deep in a resi­dential area with plenty of greenery, you are still being exposed to a dan­gerous level of air pollution. Locking up your family is thus no solution.

 

What makes children more vulnerable is their already weak immune system. Compared to adults, kids, especially infants, have low tolerance for harmful bacteria and viruses. The pollut­ants (which are matters smaller than a strand of hair) first damage their already delicate immune sys­tem. Then they attack it, causing bronchitis, asthma, flu and common cold.

 

Due to their constant exposure to pollutants—the dust that you can see is the least of your prob­lems— treatment takes longer than it should, and they have to be pre­scribed stronger medicines. “Simple medicines that would have cured them in the past aren’t effective any­more,” says Dr Agarwal. Stronger and more frequent doses of antibi­otics and other medicines add to the children’s health woes.

 

There is no easy way out. Children, infants, and even the old suffer disproportionately from air pollution. What would actually help is robust implementation of emission regulations and environ­mental policies.

 

But that is a tall order. The Minis­try of Population and Environment has always had plans to tackle air pollution. Yet implementation has been painfully slow. For instance the government recently announced a complete ban on vehicles that are older than 20 years. But this policy recommendation, proposed by ‘His Majesty’s Government’, was sup­posed to be implemented by 2001.