Kathmandu, March 30, 2018: The new mobile application gives Nepali users hourly updates about the quality of air in different areas of the city.
“Safa Hawa” is the application which was launched by the US Ambassador to Nepal, Aliana B Teplitz and Department of Environment (DOE), Director General Durga Prasad Dawadi on Thursday.
The application users will receive information on PM 2.5 and ozone content recorded by two air-quality monitoring stations.
One is installed at the US Embassy and another is in Thamel.
The app is developed with the support of the US embassy in Nepal by Bidhee Pvt Ltd.
Ambassador Teplitz said that the app would accelerate the move for the healthier Kathmandu during the launch event. She also said it is really privilege app, especially for South Asian Countries like Nepal who is struggling with severe air-pollution issues.
As per ranked in the global Environment Performance Index (EPI), released in January; Nepal has a major problem of air pollution who last for the quality of air among 180 countries.
We can see it and feel it almost every day. “Even without the necessary studies and data, everyone knows Kathmandu’s air quality is bad. The questions are: How bad is it? And more importantly: What can we do about it?” Ambassador Teplitz said, sharing results of various studies that expose the country’s air quality.
Ambassador Teplitz hoped the information on air through the app would help the government that deals with the deteriorating quality of air in the country and also said that country’s poor air affects not only the health of citizens but also sectors like business and tourism.
Ambassador said that their goal for “Safa Hawa” is to give the information and it makes available is to help reduce the number of deaths and illness from air pollution and strengthen Nepal’s capacity to manage national health risks.
Ten such governments rate air quality in different parts of the country. The DOE Director General, Durga Prasad Dawadi expect that the mobile application would soon spread data collected from all the air-quality observing station of the government.
It will update air quality details every hour. Users can download the app which is available free in both iSO and Android in Nepali and English languages.
A developer said it will also send notification and share health tips.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
