Why is it getting harder to see powerful Himalayas – BBC News in Serbian

I grew up in Kathmandu, the capital Nepal, watching Himalayas.

Since I left, I miss the wide, panoramic views of some of the highest mountain peaks in the world.

Every time I visit Kathmand, I hope that at least I will see that magnificent Mountain Venac for a moment.

But in recent years I don’t have much happiness.

The hotel I stayed during the recent visit in April was on a solid altitude from which mountains seen when it was bright, but no day during my two weeks were like that.

Even from the main lookout in Nagarkot, near Kathmandu, could not be seen anything but a thick haze, as if the mountains do not exist at all.

« More this place I do not advertise that he has a look at ‘going out, sunset and Himalaya’ as before, » says Yogender Shaky, who has a hotel in the area since 1996. years.

The main culprit who today obscures the magnificent scene is a serious air pollution that retains the thick haze against the region.

The tourism industry in countries such as Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Bhutan, through which Himalayas stretch, relies heavily on mountains to attract millions of visitors from all over the world.

« During one tour last year, we had to compensate the group of hikers, because due to the mistakes our guides could not show them Himalayas, » says Laki four, one of the first women of hiking guides in Nepal.

Scientists warn that the haze in this area is increasingly intense, it lasts longer and significantly reduces visibility.

The haze occurs as a combination of pollutants such as dust and particles of smoke from fire.

In some parts of this area, it is retained, especially during the dry season, which now, due to climate change, is significantly longer.

Experts say the visibility is less than 5,000 meters considered a mist.

The monsoon season lasts from June to September, when the clouds, not a haze, obscure the mountains and reduce visibility.

That is why the period from October until May has traditionally been the best for tourism, because less precipitation and best visibility was expected.

Once, March and April brought a thick haze and very low visibility due to high temperatures and lack of rain.

Today that period begins in December.

And the extended dry season mean that there is no rain that could break the mist.

Disappointed tourist workers and visitors

John Kerol, Austral tourist, visited Nepal more than ten times since 1986. years.

« It’s a big disappointment when you can’t see the mountains, » he says.

« It wasn’t like this before, but now a mist dominates and it was extremely disappointing for visitors like me, » Carol added.

Krishna KC, Provincial President of the Nepal Hiking Guide Association in the province of Gandaki, in the West of the Earth, says the hiking industry in a serious crisis.

« Our members, the organizers of the mountaineering tours, are increasingly discouraged because without the view of the Himalayas there is no job.

« Many of them even think to change the profession, » he says for the BBC.

Fuzzy haze

In central Himalayas, in northern India, hoteliers and tourist workers in the Federal State of the Pradesh and UtaRakand say that the mist is now thicker and returns much faster than before.

« We have long dry periods, then suddenly, strong precipitation, which was not the case in the past.

« Because of irregular rains, the mist stays much longer, » says Malika Virdy, who works in the tourism industry in the state of UtaRakand.

However, Virdy believes that tourists are persistent.

« The tourists seem to be reconciled with the situation.

« Many of them accept that this time they were not lucky and saying Himalayas invite them to return, and they are really coming back, » she says.

Western Himalayas in Pakistan have recently been less affected by the haze because mountains are relatively distant from large cities.

But the local population says that even mountainous wreaths that used to be clearly seen from cities such as Peshawar and Gilgit are now seldom seen.

« The haze stays longer longer and we can no longer see the mountains we used to be, » said Asif Shuja, former director of the Pakistan Environment Agency.

Enchanted circle

Several South Southern Cities are regularly located at the top of the list of most annoyed places in the world.

Public health in many parts of the region are seriously affected by toxic air, which also causes traffic interruptions and closure schools and college.

Drops from the vehicle and industry, dust from construction sites and macadam roads, as well as waste incineration in the open, represent main sources of pollution throughout the year.

Particles such as soil from large forest fires and lights on agricultural farms in northern India, Pakistan and Nepal are combined during the dry season with already existing air pollutants.

The longer and more intense dry season, as a consequence of climate change, has led to a significant increase in the number of forest fires in the region.

And weather conditions, when a warmer layer of air retains above colder, create conditions during which pollutants retain in the air and limits the vertical movement of air, which prevents pollution.

« Miscomes and sandstorms in southern Asia are on the rise, and this trend is expected to continue due to climate change and other factors, » Dr. Sometimes Das from the Meteorological Association of South Asia says for the BBC.

Recent research in Kathmandu has shown that they have been almost all days in December, January and February above the visibility threshold and can be classified.

During the 1990s, the percentage of such days in the same months was about 60 percent.

According to the Nepalese Institute for Hydrology and Meteorology, at the airport in Pokhari, one of the main tourist centers in West Nepal, is 2024. years recorded in 168 days with a haze.

It is a significant increase compared to 23 such days at 2020. and 84 days in 2021. years.

However, there are still no comprehensive and comparable data at the regional level on the frequency of days with the haze.

Experts say Himalayas are probably the most affected by the mountain venac in the world, precisely because of their position in the most populous part of the planet.

This means that an enchanting view of the Himalayas could remain reserved for photos, art paintings and postcards in the future.

« We’re going to do this job with a sense of guilt, because we can’t show the mountains, » says Laki four, who in Pokhari, a picturesque tourist place in the west Nepal, trained many women to become mountaineering guides.

« And we can’t do anything against the mist ».

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