In a latest finding which may not surprise many, Kathmandu has been ranked the third most polluted city in the world, according to Pollution Index 2016. According to latest pollution index published by Serbia-based research website Numbeo.com, Nepal’s Capital city sits in the third position of the pollution ranking with a pollution index of 96.66. The last pollution ranking published in the middle of 2015 had also placed Kathmandu in the third position while in the beginning of 2015 Kathmandu was in the fifth position. The rankings are are based on perceptions of visitors to the website and includes some relevant data from World Health Organisation and other institutions, Numbeo.com says about the pollution index. The index is an estimation of the overall pollution in the city with the biggest weight given to air pollution and then to water pollution.
The dismal performance in pollution index was expected as a 2014 report of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shows that Kathmandu air contains 400 micrograms of particulate matter up to 10 micrometres in size per cubic metre or the PM10 is 400µg/m3. However, the maximum limit for PM10 set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards is 120µg/m3. Likewise, another 2014 report by Clean Energy Nepal shows that Kathmandu air contains 260 micrograms of particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in size per cubic metre or the PM2.5 is 260µg/m3 against maximum limit of 40µg/m3. The air quality samples for both results were taken from Putali Sadak.
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