Nepal grapples with severe air pollution: Report

Kathmandu, June 17

Air pollution has emerged as the leading cause of death and disability in Nepal.
It has become a crisis that is significantly shortening the lives of its citizens and inflicting substantial economic damage, stated a World Bank Report 'Towards clean air in Nepal: Benefits, pollution sources, and solutions' released in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

The report revealed alarming statistics, indicating that the average Nepali's life expectancy is reduced by 3.4 years due to polluted air, leading to approximately 26,000 premature deaths annually.

The pervasive nature of air pollution surpasses other critical health risks such as malnutrition and tobacco use, making it the country's foremost environmental and public health challenge.

According to the report, the Kathmandu Valley and Tarai region are the major air pollution hotspots in the country, and these areas have shown no significant improvement in air quality over the past decade.

"The primary pollutant of concern is Particulate Matter (PM2.5​), microscopic particles smaller than 2.5 microns, which can deeply penetrate the lungs and other vital organs, posing a severe threat to human health," read the report.

Current PM2.5​ concentrations in these regions far exceed the World Health Organisation's (WHO) ultimate annual mean target of 5 μg/m3, as well as its initial interim goal of 35 μg/m3.

The economic repercussions are equally staggering, with the cost of poor air quality estimated to exceed 6 per cent of Nepal's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year. This economic toll is a result of reduced labour productivity due to increased health-related absences and impaired cognitive function, as well as significant negative impacts on the tourism and aviation sectors, said the report.

If immediate and decisive action are taken, air pollution would further intensify and reach 52 μg/m3 in the Kathmandu Valley and 42 μg/m3 in Tarai by 2035, causing tens of thousands of additional premature deaths, particularly among children and the elderly and further straining the healthcare system, thus, hindering economic growth.

 

Transboundary pollution

The report noted that major sources of pollution in the Kathmandu Valley are industrial production, cooking, and mobility. Industrial fuel combustion, primarily from boiler usage, is expected to rise significantly.

Likewise, seasonal forest fires, prevalent from February to May, also contribute substantially, ranking as the fourth largest local source of annual average air pollution exposure.

A significant portion of Nepal's air pollution originates from outside its borders. Transboundary air pollution has a considerable impact on air quality in both the Kathmandu Valley and, more acutely, the Tarai region.

Almost a quarter of the pollution in the Kathmandu Valley is from outside the Valley, with more than half of that originating from other countries. The situation is even more critical in the Tarai, where two-thirds of PM2.5​ exposure crosses international borders, largely due to its proximity to the Indo-Gangetic Plain Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF) area, a region known for high agricultural and industrial emissions.

 

35 by 35

According to the report, the Government of Nepal has expressed a strong commitment to improving air quality, setting an ambitious target to achieve an annual average PM2.5​ concentration of 35 μg/m3 by 2035.

This '35 by 35' aspirational goal aligns with the WHO interim target 1 for PM2.5​ and has been endorsed by other countries in the IGP-HF region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Pakistan.

The report identifies three priority measures crucial for achieving this target in the Kathmandu Valley: cleaner production technology, cleaner cooking, and cleaner Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDVs). These measures are not only among the most cost-effective but also offer the highest pollution abatement potential, read the report.

The report also noted that while these measures are vital for the Tarai, they are insufficient on their own due to the significant transboundary pollution. Achieving the '35 by 35' target in the Tarai necessitates collaborative action with neighbouring countries.

It advised that Tarai should focus on local priority actions while engaging in regional coordination efforts to strengthen common pollution control measures across the IGP-HF region.

According to the report, to enable air quality management (AQM), Nepal should enhance air quality monitoring and communication, strengthen governance and enforcement, establish supportive economic framework to redirect revenue from environmental tax to clean transitions, provide incentives to industries in cleaner technologies, and ensure adequate infrastructure for cleaner technologies.

Speaking at the report launch programme, Minister for Forests and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, said that clean air and economic growth are not in conflict. In fact, the cost of inaction on pollution is far greater than the cost of taking bold steps today.

According to him, from setting stricter industrial emission standards to promoting electric transport, the government is committed to cleaning Nepal’s air.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 18 June 2025.