Kathmandu: The officials said on Friday that Nepal is fighting the deadliest forest fires in years, as a huge blaze rages across the forests of the country. Air quality in Kathmandu became the worst and thick smoke blanketed the city. So far, five people have died trying to put out the fires that were raging across the country. The wildfires were burning in at least 60 places across 22 of Nepal’s 77 administrative districts which increased the level of air pollution.
Since 2012, this forest fire is considered the worst by the Government. Sundar Sharma, a senior official of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said, “Forest Fires are the main reason for the rising air pollution in Kathmandu and many other places”. He further added, “Wild Fires could hit the peak later this month if the ongoing dry spell continued”.
The air pollution in Nepal climbed to hazardous levels which forced millions of students to stay at home. So, the government of Nepal ordered all the schools to close for four days at the end of March. According to data, on Friday, the air quality index(AQI) in Kathmandu was at an unhealthy level of 174. Indu Bikram Joshi, a spokesman for the Department of Environment said, “The pollution levels have come down in many places but this is not adequate enough for healthy breathing”.