Often a single blood pressure (BP) measurement is used to diagnose and manage hypertension in busy clinics. However, repeated BP measurements have been shown to be more representative of the true BP status of the individual. Improper measurement of office BP can lead to inaccurate classification, overestimation of a patient’s true BP, unnecessary treatment, and misinterpretation of the true prevalence of hypertension. There is no consensus among major guidelines on the number of recommended measurements at a single visit or the method of arriving at final clinic BP reading.

Air pollution has large impacts on the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), affecting not just the health of people and ecosystems, but also climate, the cryosphere, monsoon patterns, water availability, agriculture, and incomes (established but incomplete). Although the available data are not comprehensive, they clearly show that the HKH receives significant amounts of air pollution from within and outside of the region, including the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), a region where many rural areas are severely polluted. In addition, the HKH receives trans-boundary pollution from other parts of Asia.

Using data from the nearly 6000 households in the Nepal Living Standards Survey of 2010–11 we find that the mean reduction in household firewood collection associated with use of a biogas plant for cooking is about 1100 kg/year from a mean of ∼∼2400 kg/year. This estimate is derived comparing only households with and without biogas in the same village, thus effectively removing the influence of many potential confounders.

The rapidly growing construction sector in India has a large resource foot print but can offer a vast potential to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Greening the building sector is feasible through various policy measures and incentives to deal with recycling and waste treatment, reduction in energy use, emissions and the use of other hazardous substances, which have several public and private benefits.