Back to news
30 Jul 2015 | Atmosphere Initiative

Emission study to close data gaps

2 mins Read

70% Complete

Emission is a major determinant of air quality, and improving quantification and characterization of emission sources in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is one of the main goals of the Atmosphere Initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Therefore, in collaboration with scientists funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), ICIMOD organized a first-of-its-kind field campaign to characterize gaseous and particle-phase air pollutants emitted from various combustion sources across Nepal.  Five research groups from the US (Universities of Montana, Iowa, Emory, Virginia, and Drexel) were instrumental in raising over USD 1 million from the NSF to conduct the field campaign. The Nepali company MinErgy was hired by ICIMOD as a local partner to assist and ensure smooth functioning of the study.

While the broader study includes activities such as the evaluation of existing emission inventories and the collection of activity data, the focus of the field campaign was on ambient measurements, especially the improvement of emission factors which have been key sources of weakness in the emissions quantification in the HKH region. The study directly sampled emissions from individual sources such as brick kilns, cooking stoves, agricultural groundwater pumps, motor vehicles, and generator sets using state-of-the-art custom-built instruments that were temporarily imported into Nepal for the campaign.

The researchers measured emissions from cookstoves, vehicles, diesel generators, diesel pumps, various open fires, and brick kilns. In order to get a complete overview of cooking emissions of the possible stove/fuel combinations, the team produced the sampling matrix integrating different types of stoves, single-pot traditional mud stove, dual-pot, gas stove, and also considered all of the possible stove/fuel combinations.

When the earthquake struck Nepal on 25 April, the team was on the Narayanghat Mugling Road on its way back to Kathmandu after a week of sampling Tarai sources.  While the campaign was cut short, the data collected is currently being analyzed and prepared for publication in peer-reviewed papers.

The study is expected to provide more accurate data about emission factors for specific sources in the HKH region, such as the grams of carbon monoxide emitted per liter of diesel fuel burned by overloaded freight trucks climbing uphill, or the chemical speciation profiles of plastic burning – the fractions of particulate matter and volatile organic gases that enter the atmosphere as carcinogenic compounds. The field measurements will be used to construct a detailed inventory of air pollutant emissions that can be used immediately to guide mitigation strategies in Nepal and the region.

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

2 Apr 2015 News
Maximizing Rural Value Chains in Myanmar

In March, ICIMOD and the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID) conducted a ...

8 Sep 2016 Gender in Koshi
Ratu River Communities Prepared for Flash Floods

A team from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) visited community based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) sites ...

24 Feb 2021 News
Deepening regional cooperation for climate action: HKH High-Level Task Force convenes

The first meeting of the HKH High-Level Task Force took place virtually on 22 February 2021. ...

17 Nov 2015 News
Soil Study in Mustang

  Up to 18 thousand gross tonnes of carbon are stored in worldwide soils, almost double the amount stored in all ...

24 Jan 2019 HI-RISK
Regional water-related disaster experts discuss gaps in flood early warning communication and potential solutions

In his welcome remarks, Basanta Shrestha, Director of Strategic Cooperation at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), emphasized ...

25 May 2016 Himalica
Pilot Village Bee Farmers from Bhutan and Nepal Learn about Honeybee Management

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) conducted a hands-on beekeeping training for Apis cerana bee entrepreneurs from Bhutan ...

23 Mar 2017 Himalica
Himalica Books on Cardamom Launched at Sixth Nepal International Trade Fair

David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD, and Harish Chilwal, Project Coordinator of the Environment Conservation ...

15 Nov 2016 News
New Publication: Climate Change Impacts on Upper Indus Basin Hydrology

The Indus is one of the most meltwater-dependent rivers on earth. It hosts a large, rapidly growing population, and the ...