Kathmandu, April 10
Following rainfall, the air quality in Kathmandu has shown signs of improvement after days of severe pollution.
Until Wednesday afternoon, Kathmandu ranked as the second most polluted city in the world. However, by Thursday morning, it had dropped to 12th on the list. The rainfall helped wash away dust and particulate matter from the atmosphere, leading to a noticeable improvement in air quality.
According to meteorologists at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology’s Weather Forecasting Division, rainfall is expected to continue today, tomorrow, and the day after. As a result, air quality across Nepal is likely to improve further in the coming days.
Swiss-based real-time air quality monitoring platform IQAir reported Kathmandu’s Air Quality Index (AQI) at 119 as of 7:15 am on Thursday. Although this indicates a slight improvement, it still falls under the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category.
As per Nepal’s government-approved AQI scale:
- 0–50 is considered good,
- 51–100 moderate,
- 101–150 unhealthy for sensitive groups,
- 151–200 unhealthy,
- 201–300 very unhealthy,
- Above 301 is categorized as hazardous.
On March 31, Kathmandu’s AQI had surged to 373, nearing hazardous levels. In a similar situation in March 2021, when the AQI peaked at 470, the government had shut down schools for four days due to extreme pollution.
While recent rains have brought temporary relief, experts caution that long-term measures are essential to ensure sustained air quality improvements in the capital.
