Back to news
4 Oct 2019 | Atmosphere Initiative

Building air quality monitoring skills within the HKH to ensure reliable data generation

Rising emissions of air pollutants from urban, industrial, and rural sources have affected the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region over recent decades. This raises concerns about deteriorating air quality, impacts on health and visibility, changes in atmospheric heating and cooling, as well as changes in cloud microphysics and monsoon strength and timing. Moreover, particulate pollution is increasing above the Tibetan Plateau, light-absorbing substances are being deposited onto snow and ice surfaces, and there is accelerated melting of the Himalayan cryosphere.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Scientific evidence of atmospheric changes is crucial to inform governments, policy makers, and other stakeholders. (Photo: Arbindra Khadka/ICIMOD)

ICIMOD’s Atmosphere Initiative together with government counterparts (the Department of Environment in Nepal and the National Environment Commission in Bhutan) captures crucial scientific evidence of these processes, enabling governments, policy makers, and other stakeholders to take action based on the generated knowledge.

Over 24 state-of-the-art air quality stations with particulate matter measurement instruments now generate and relay vital information in the mountains of Nepal and Bhutan. The Grimm Environment Dust Monitor model 180 is a primary source of information, measuring PM10, PM2.5, PM1, and total suspended particles. The instruments require regular servicing and calibration to ensure the highest quality of data, necessitating periodic shipments back to Germany.

To establish a cost-effective modality and build capacities of country partners to operate, troubleshoot, and calibrate the instruments on-site, ICIMOD conducted a five-day workshop on environment dust monitoring instrument operation and maintenance in Lalitpur, Nepal, from 16 to 20 September 2019. Ten participants from the government counterparts institutions involved in air quality monitoring in Nepal and Bhutan are now trained on instrument working principles, daily operational aspects, maintenance, and calibration and case-wise troubleshooting of mechanical aspects as well as data reading. A technician from the original manufacturers conducted hands-on training with the actual equipment.
Arnico Panday, Regional Programme Manager – Atmosphere Programme, ICIMOD, reiterated the need to build skills within the HKH to operate the instruments properly, and to ensure that they run flawlessly so that reliable data can be relayed to policy makers and the public. ICIMOD envisions future trainings based on learnings from this workshop on other air quality parameters such as particulate matter, black carbon, and trace gases.

1. The workshop on environment dust monitoring instrument operation and maintenance build skills of participants from Nepal and Bhutan in handling the Grimm Environment Dust Monitor model 180, which measures particular matters (Photo: Sagar Adhikari/ICIMOD)

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

RELATED CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

16 Apr 2015 News
Celebrating world water day

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in collaboration with various national and international ...

1 May 2019 CryoHub
More research needed to understand the impact of cryosphere changes on mountain communities in the HKH

The review brings the much needed discussion on cryosphere services and their importance to the spotlight. The high-mountain societies that ...

1 Apr 2016 News
Building Expertise in CBFEWS

ICIMOD, in collaboration with Gilgit Baltistan Disaster Management Authority and Focus Humanitarian Assistance, is planning to pilot Community Based Flood ...

17 Jul 2017 SANDEE
SANDEE Joins ICIMOD

SANDEE brings together researchers and practitioners from South Asian countries to address the region’s environmental development challenges. For 16 years, ...

25 May 2015 News
Delegates visit community-based flood early warning prototype

A six-member delegation from UNICEF Nepal and Nepal Red Cross Society visited the prototype of Community-Based Flood Early Warning System (CB-FEWS) at ICIMOD Knowledge Park, ...

Community-based flood early warning: First national-level hands-on training in Pakistan

In collaboration with the Pakistan Meteorological Department, WWF-Pakistan, and Burraq Integrated ...

4 Jan 2018 News
At The Crossroads takes ICIMOD Prize at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival

Through his subtle yet powerful depiction of the struggles of rural mountain village life in Uttarakhand, India, director Savyasachi Anju ...

24 Aug 2018 News
Highlighting Need for Sustainable Tourism at Global Adventure and Mountaineering Expo

Molden’s talk was titled Climate+Change and Sustainable Tourism: A regional cooperation perspective in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. Its key ...