New Delhi, April 7 -- Nepal is battling severe forest fires. This is not new, but, according to data quoted by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre focussed on the Hindu Kush Himalayas -- forest fires in Napal have more than doubled in the last decade.
A key reason is a drier winter, with barely any rainfall. Along with the loss of precious biodiversity, the fires impact livelihoods due to drought and loss of access to the forest, and dents the tourism economy.
The burning forests have punched air quality in the gut. The AQI is so poor that Kathmandu has become the most polluted capital city, beating even Delhi for a while, according to the Swiss monitoring o...