Climate change and urban health in the kathmandu valley

Extreme weather events are being witnessed in the Kathmandu valley as a result of climate change. Global warming is resulting in an increased length of summers with warmer days, more days with higher intensity of rainfall per day, and fewer days of rainfall.

As mentioned earlier, climate change and rapid urbanization is resulting in the emergence of new vectors and viruses. A study has shown the existence of at least 12 types of mosquitoes of culex and anopheles species in the Gokama area, a suburban area of Kathmandu. Aedes aegypti a vector responsible for dengue fever, was also found in Kathmandu in June 2009. Japanese encephalitis cases have been reported from hilly districts of Nepal since 2004. The cause of acute encephalitis in hill and mountain districts is noted to be consistent.

Lalitpur districts is located in the west and south of the Kathmandu valley, and 13 cases of malaria were detected in this districts in 2006; out of these, two were confirmed cases of indigenous malaria.

Bacterial diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and food poisoning are also gradually increasing in the valley because of poor quality of drinking water, deteriorating sanitary conditions and problems linked to the solid waste disposal system; increases in temperature due to climate change can lead to the widening of the geographic range of vectors.