April 17: Air pollution has been increasing all over the country, including the Kathmandu valley, due to the wild fires that have been raging in various parts of the country for the past few days.

The foggy condition of air due to pollution will persists for three more days, according to experts.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said that the pollution will remain stable for a few more days as there is no chance of wind and rainfall to remove the pollution.

According to the division, the air pollution is high because there has been no rainfall in some parts of the country for a long time and there have been forest fires in many places.

Shankar Prasad Paudel, spokesperson for the Department of Environment, said that the pollutants have accumulated near the surface due to lack of rain and low pressure of wind along with the smoke emitted from the fires.

He said that the satellite images have shown that pollution in the Kathmandu Valley has increased due to the smoke emitted from Bara, Parsa and Chitwan.

The amount of pollution in the Kathmandu valley has increased because the air coming to Kathmandu from Bara, Parsa and Chitwan through the Bagmati Corridor cannot flow elsewhere.

The department has urged people to take precautions to avoid pollution. As the air pollution is increasing, the department has urged the people to avoid going outside as much as possible and use face masks and glasses if one has to go out.

Dr Dharma Upreti, a climate and environmental expert, suggested that everyone must use masks and should not go out of the house except for essential work. He also said that it will take a few more days for the weather to become clear again.

Paudel, the spokesperson of the Department of Environment, said that health hazards such as blood pressure, heart problems, cancer and other health problems are likely to increase due to air pollution.

Flights have also been affected across the country due to the polluted air. According to the Tribhuvan International Airport Office, flights at domestic airports were affected on Sunday due to low visibility. International flights from Kathmandu are said to be normal.

According to IQ Air, an organization which measures the amount of air pollution across the world, the air quality indicator on Sunday showed that the Kathmandu Valley was ranked first in the world in terms of air pollution.

According to IQAir, there was more air pollution in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur on Sunday. In these places, the air quality measurement indicator iQAir was above 200.

Similarly, the air in Kirtipur, Ratnapark, Madhyapur Thimi, Hetauda and Dhankuta was unhealthy. In these areas, the air quality measurement indicator iQAir reached almost 200.

If the AIQ is more than 50, the people of poor health group is at risk, although the measurement from 51 to 100 is considered normal. But if the AIQ is above 100, it is unhealthy for everyone. Air pollution is considered to be dangerous if the AIQ reaches above 300.

Paudel, the spokesperson of the environment department, informed that if there is no rain or if there is no strong wind, the air pollution in the country including the valley will not decrease and the risk of pollution will continue for a few more days.