Society and Environment

On June 3, 2021, just two days before Environment Day, a fire broke out at the waste transfer center at Teku. The transfer station, operated by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, is located on the banks of the Bagmati River. Footage of the fire, shared on the media, showed that it was huge and took the effort of Nepal police, armed police force, fire brigade, and Nepal Army to extinguish. The fire was severe for two reasons: first, all kinds of waste, including plastics and rubber, were burning (the dark black color of smoke points in that direction), polluting the environment with harmful chemicals and smoke. Second, the methane gas from the decaying waste help spread the fire quickly. In addition, the waste collection center at Teku, being in the middle of the city, poses much threat to the residents nearby with the foul smell, risk of transmission of communicable diseases, air pollution, and fire risk. The medical waste from many hospitals also gets dumped on the site, risking residen

South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (SASCOF-19) & Climate Services Users Forum forecasted a normal to above-normal rainfall in the 2021 monsoon season in many parts of South Asia. Living with a flood: Plight of squatter settlements Above-normal rainfall is most likely over areas along the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. The pre-monsoon rainfall was a boon to people in Nepal as it washed away the deadly air pollution from the forest fire that blanketed significant areas of Nepal, including the Kathmandu Valley. In March and April 2021, the air pollution level in Kathmandu recorded the highest, making it “ the ” most polluted city in the world. Above-average rainfall in Nepal is good news to farmers who depend on rain for crop production. Still, for many people, it is their vulnerability to landslides and flooding that worries them. Floods and inundation are significant climatic hazards, the impacts of which are more pronounced on the poor and marginalized urban communities living