Though weather fluctuations are common during pre-rainy months, these kinds of seasonal changes are quite rare in Nepal.[break]
The increase in temperature before the rainy season heats up the land and causes evaporation, resulting in formation of thick clouds.
The gloomy sight that was created with addition to the pollution from neighboring countries can be an eye-opener for the experts gathered for the conference.
Nepal has the least volume of carbon emission compared to other countries but its citizens have been affected by pollution from its neighbors.
During winters, Nepal suffers from fog for a long time due to industrial pollution in India. The black clouds affect Nepal badly before the rainy season while during monsoons the lands near the border areas are inundated by overflows from dams in India.
According to senior climate expert Shiva Nepal, the formation of clouds due to evaporation and trans-boundary pollution was the reason for such darkening during the said afternoon. March and April are hazy and dry by nature which increases the risks for forest fires.
The normal visibility in Kathmandu is 10,000 meters but it was reduced to a mere 3,000 meters on Tuesday, April 3.
The evaporation due to heat during this season is called induced convecting by experts. During this season, there is westerly wind effect on the upper layer of the atmosphere, but even then the environment at ground level gets hazy because of winds blowing from all directions.
“To change this climate, it has to either rain or has to be extremely windy. But at the moment, both these processes are not taking place. As a result, the sky darkens and the temperature increases,” says Nepal.
The dust from deserts in India and its industrial pollution affects Nepal the most. Last winter, 25 people had to lose their lives due to thick fog in Terai. This has been a regular phenomenon for the last two decades in the region.
Though fog during winter is common, industrial pollution increases fog intensity, says Mani Ratna Shakya, Deputy Director at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
India likes its position as the big brother among SAARC countries. But during the climate convention which was attended by representatives from 26 countries and ministers from 10 countries, India showed its negligence on climate issues by sending only an under-secretary from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
It had done the same by sending only a government secretary for the Regional Climate Summit in Bhutan a few months ago.
It is aware that its fast-paced development has affected the neighboring countries, which is why it tries to avoid such summits. India makes promises to participate in climate change issues but it has not yet dared to lead.
According to a study of Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), an umbrella organization of South Asian NGOs for climate issues, the laws regarding climate change are good but are yet to be implemented.
The SAARC declaration from conferences in Maldives in 2007, Bangladesh in 2008 and Thimpu in 2010 had agreements on working together to tackle climate change issues but they have not been implemented. Analysts have said that India’s unwillingness is the main cause behind this.
India needs to understand that this problem is not only of its neighbors. Therefore, it has to take the lead and work on implementation of adaptive issues because natural disasters occur regardless of national boundaries.
Besides India, China’s concern for the issues regarding climate change in mountain countries is also crucial.
Only if and when the two economic giants come together for climate issues in mountainous countries, the world will acknowledge the current problems they are all facing.
Bhatta is a senior correspondent at Nagarik daily and has been writing on environmental issues for the past eight years.
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