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12°C Kathmandu
Air Quality in Kathmandu: 162
Friday, January 5, 2024

Air quality improves in world’s major cities, including

Kathmandu, under Covid-19 lockdowns
Although pollution has gone down in the Valley, air quality is still not suitable for certain age groups.

Kailash Poudel
April 23, 2022

Kathmandu Air Quality Index

April 2023 and April 2024
6

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

The global Covid-19 pandemic has forced the public indoors and pushed general life to a halt
around major cities of the world for several weeks now.

A slew of stringent measures enforced by countries to contain the spread of coronavirus has seen
into changes in air quality in the improved air quality worldwide, including in Kathmandu,
according to a latest study that looked wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in the major cities.
“The Covid-19 induced lockdown has brought down air pollution levels in all major cities,” said
Uttam Babu Shrestha, one of the authors of the study. “However, the effect on air quality varied
as cities have imposed different models of measures,” said Shrestha, who is also a director at the
Global Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, a think tank based in Kathmandu. “The impact of
the ongoing lockdown was visible in the air quality in Nepal, too, as the country is under
lockdown for over a month now.”

The study found that following the lockdown, air quality improved in the world's most polluted
cities such as Bangalore, Beijing, Bangkok, Delhi, and Nanjing, as well as the major trade
centers such as New York, London, Paris, Seoul, Sydney, and Tokyo.