The pollution level in many towns of the country appear to have skyrocketed in the last few days. Whilst Dang Deukhuri is said to have scaled a dizzy air quality index (AQI) of around 184, Ratna Park of Kathmandu is not far behind with 155. Interestingly, neighbouring Bhaktapur is reveling within a comfortable one of 47. If Buddha were to be born now, he would not be able to walk erect soon after coming out of his mother's womb as the pollution level in Lumbini was comparable to the polluted cities of South Asia already in 2017, according to Dipesh Rupakheti et al. in their article entitled 'Pre monsoon air quality in World Heritage Site...'

Consequently, people have been advised to take late morning walks instead of an early one after the sun warms the atmosphere sufficient enough to lift the pollution constituents, mainly the particulate matters, above the head level. Evening walk is also said to be the best before the sun sets when the polluting materials will not have descended close to ground level.

The Kathmandu Valley is more vulnerable to air pollution because of its storage due to its bowel shape, which cannot be swept away by the flowing wind. It receives air pollution from as far as Hariyana and Punjab in India, which are notorious for straw burning.

As a result, people have been reported to be flooding hospitals with complaints of diarrhoea, cold and cough, discomfort in the neck, chest pain, asthma, fever, itching of the eyes and the skins and the like. According to an article written by Bimala and Paudel, scientists duo of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, entitled 'A study on the status air pollution and its impact in Nepal', high level of pollution can be fatal, and almost 10 to 15 per cent of the people die due to pollution every year.

Pollution is like a double-edged sword consisting of indoor as well as outdoor. Indoor pollution is also high due to the excessive use of fuel wood for cooking particularly in the rural areas. The outdoor pollution is streets ahead of the indoor one due to vehicular emission, mismanagement of waste and smoke coming out of the brick kilns, to name a few, especially in the urban areas.

Pollution is caused mainly due to the accumulation of dust particulate materials, abbreviated as PM2.5 and PM10, in the atmosphere. Like wolfs hunting in groups the other ingredients carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, black carbon and the like merrily prey together on the Nepali environment.

An AQI of up to 50 is said to be normal. An AQI ranging from 50 to 100 is believed to be average. When it fluctuates between 100 and 150, it may be unhealthy for susceptible groups. Anything exceeding 150 can be unhealthy. If it crosses the 200 mark it is labelled as very unhealthy, and dangerous if it hovers between 300 and more. In Nepal, the AQI is measured by the quantum of PM2.5 present in the air through instruments installed at different measuring stations around the country.

The forest fire is yet another villainous actor, responsible for the dramatic spike in air pollution. In recent weeks, the wildfire in California, United States, resulting in the deaths of 26 people, dominated the media headlines. Bushfires have recently emulated their American counterpart in Nepal as well with continuous inflammation in Kavre district. Thank God no human casualty has been reported so far as it started from an uninhabited part of the district. But the way it has been hissing with macabre sound, it is likely to enter settlements causing loss of life and property any time in the future. Wildfires also deposit much-undesired black carbon as evidenced by a similar phenomenon in Lumbini, with 40 per cent by biomass and the rest by fossil fuel burning.

The question arises as to how to simultaneously fight the war on two fronts – one against the forest fire and the other against the particulate matter. These problems are complex, but the answers can be equally simple. The construction of ponds on both sides of the gullies with an overflow pipe connected to the streams to maintain the ecology downstream in the hills right from the highland to the lowland continuing through the midland can tame the wildfire monster. It has been proved by several research findings that the ponds lower the temperature and increase the humidity, both of which make a meat of the bushfire as two tigers hunting in pairs.

As for lowering the AQI, snake plants, endorsed by the prestigious NASA for their oxygen output, can create wonders. Eight snake plants were put in a class room in Indonesia. It was found that the AQI slumped by 29 micrograms per cubic meter. Inspired by this event, a bamboo plastic snake plant tower was constructed by this columnist with the help of the students and the faculties in the compound of Kantipur International Engineering located at Gwarko of Lalitpur district. It brought down the AQI by threefold. It also absorbed the carbon dioxide by 28 particles per million per cubic meter per second. Such towers can be built at the road junctions as well as along the roads with heavy traffic. The advantage of the snake plants is that they are available all around the country and they seldom need water. Moreover, they last for a long time, graft easily and spread fast.

The government, however, appears to be taking masochistic delight in highlighting painful pollution events rather than adopting the aforementioned simple solutions. Like a rooster which crows falls back to sleep time and again, the government also goes into a deep slumber after shouting at the top of the voice whenever the pollution surges every winter.