A few weeks ago, an eight-month-old baby girl from Arubari in the Capital was rushed to the Chabahil-based Om Hospital and Research Center, as the child was experiencing shortness of breath.

The child’s parents told the doctor that the baby didn't have a fever but would make a wheezing sound while exhaling.

“The baby was suffering from childhood asthma,” said Dr Rita Hamal, a consultant paediatrician at the hospital. “We admitted her and provided oxygen therapy. It took three days for her condition to improve.”

As the Capital’s air quality continues to worsen, often reaching hazardous levels, this is a common refrain among hundreds of children brought to hospitals for treatment of childhood asthma.

The ongoing forest fires, vehicular and industrial emissions, and the burning of agriculture residue throughout the country have made the air toxic, exacerbating asthma problems in small children.

A recent report by Save the Children shows critical linkages between air pollution and multi-faceted hazards for children.

The report titled “Breathless Future: Unveiling the Impacts of Air Pollution on Children and Women in Kathmandu and Saptari” shows the systemic impact of air pollution on various aspects of children's lives. The report also explored the effects of air pollution on women and underrepresented groups.

“Deteriorating air quality, both outdoors and indoors, has exposed children and women to a multitude of health hazards— asthma, other lung conditions, coughing, skin disease, nausea, and headache,” reads the report. “ Alarmingly, these conditions have led to increased cases of pregnancy loss, child organ underdevelopment, and a general decline in life expectancy.”

The study carried out in Kathmandu and Saptari, two of the most polluted districts in the country, highlights a significant knowledge gap related to air pollution, including its effects in indoor settings and associated health risks, particularly for women and children who spend extensive periods inside their homes.

Experts say the deterioration of air quality seriously affects public health. Poor air quality causes both short- and long-term effects on public health.

Bad air quality can cause pneumonia, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, skin allergy, stroke and heart problems, among others, in the short term, ulcers and cancer of the lungs and intestine, kidney disease and heart problems in the long run.

People living in areas with high levels of air pollution are most likely to suffer from asthma, and small children are not immune to these problems, according to doctors.

“Earlier more children would suffer from pneumonia,” said Dr Ganesh Rai, former director at the Kanti Children’s Hospital, Kathmandu. “These days, cases of childhood asthma have surpassed pneumonia.”

Child health experts say that in most cases childhood asthma can be cured by an appropriate and timely treatment but uncontrolled asthma can lead to lung damage.

In many cases, parents mistake asthma for pneumonia. Some parents are unaware of the signs, and the children could suffer from asthma, although asthma is commonly associated with the elderly.

“Polluted air has exacerbated childhood asthma in our country, this fact should be understood by all,” said Rai. “Oftentimes, when children do not show fever or other symptoms, parents unknowingly overlook asthma and do not take the children to hospital for too long. It is crucial to seek medical help if a child has shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, or wheezing while breathing out.”

Apart from polluted air, several other triggering factors including allergies, family history of asthma, and frequent respiratory illnesses are also responsible for childhood asthma, according to doctors.

Studies show that polluted air has been shortening the lives of Nepali people. Polluted air has been cutting short the lives of Nepali people by around five years, according to a report by the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), which converts air pollution concentration into an impact on life expectancy. AQLI is a metric produced by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

Toxic air is deadlier than tobacco use and high blood pressure, which reduce life by 2.8 years and 1.7 years, respectively.

The reduction in life expectancy depends on where one lives—7.5 years in Mahottari, 7.4 years in Rautahat and Dhanusha, and 7.2 years in Sarlahi and Bara districts, the AQLI report said.

Likewise, the pollution has been shaving 6.7 years off the lives of people residing in Siraha, and 6.2 years in Saptari and Rupandehi districts.