Kathmandu/Bangkok, Feb 15 (EFE).- The air quality in South and East Asia plummeted to “unhealthy” levels, with seven cities in the regions ranking among the ten most polluted major metropolitan areas in the world on Thursday.
However, alarm bells rang louder in the Thai capital, Bangkok, which ranked as the 13th most polluted city.
Thai authorities warned that pollution levels had hit unhealthy levels in the capital and urged government employees to work from home for the next two days.
According to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda), unsafe levels of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter covered 62 out of 77 Thai provinces, with the worst level at 187.3 microgrammes per cubic meter of air in Bangkok.
The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines say more than 25 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter of air are unsafe.
The Thai health department warned that air pollution in Greater Bangkok could worsen over the next few days due to stagnant air.
The Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, claimed the top unenviable spot with its air quality measuring 190, according to the Swiss air quality tracking website IQAir.
According to the tracker, air quality up to 50 is considered “good,” and moderate if it ranges between 51-100.
A level from 101 to 150 is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” while between 151 to 200, it is deemed “unhealthy.”
It becomes “very unhealthy” if the scale ranges between 201-300. Anything above 301 is considered “hazardous.”
The eastern Indian city of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh, followed Dhaka with an AQI measuring 171.
The Indian capital, New Delhi, which usually ranks among the most polluted regions in the world, came in a close third with an AQI of 167. Other cities in the region that figured on the list included Mumbai (India), Lahore and Karachi (Pakistan), and Hanoi (Vietnam).
Up north in Nepal, the capital Kathmandu, surrounded by the Himalayas, also recorded unhealthy air quality levels, with PM2.5 levels reaching 156 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
Authorities in Kathmandu have mobilized more than 300 workers to clean the dust from the streets of the city, chief of Kathmandu Environment Department Rabin Man Shrestha told EFE. “We have also been spraying water to reduce the dust.”
Dust from construction activities, vehicular emissions, and forest fires are among the main factors contributing to air pollution.
Environmentalists say the lack of rainfall has spiked air pollution in Kathmandu city. Nepal witnessed a drought-like situation this winter, receiving just 11 millimeters of rainfall since Dec. 1, significantly below the winter average of 60.1 millimeters, the country’s weather office said.
Experts believe that the bowl shape of the Kathmandu Valley traps pollutants in the city, a key factor in spiking air pollution, especially in dry seasons. EFE
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