Air Pollution Clouds Kathmandu’s Spring Blossoms

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

The famous opening line from English poet John Keats’ “Endymion: A Poetic Romance” seems an apt description of spring in the Kathmandu Valley.

Across the city, peach and cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Trees draped in soft shades of pink and white have transformed streets, parks and open spaces into scenes of quiet beauty.

From Bhrikutimandap to other corners of the Valley, the arrival of spring has turned familiar places into picturesque backdrops. People pause beneath the blossoms. Some take selfies and wefies, while others simply stand and admire the fleeting colours of the season.

Yet the beauty of spring has been overshadowed by worsening air pollution in recent days.

A thick haze blanketed the Valley again on Tuesday, March 10. According to the Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir, Kathmandu currently ranks as the world’s most polluted city, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 181 — a level considered unhealthy.

At 4:45 p.m., the city’s average PM2.5 concentration was recorded at 98.2 µg/m³, 19.6 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value.

Authorities have urged the public to take precautionary measures. The government has called on people not to burn waste and crop residues and to discourage such practices in their communities.

IQAir also recommends avoiding outdoor exercise, keeping windows closed to prevent polluted air from entering homes, wearing masks when outdoors, and using air purifiers indoors to minimise exposure to polluted air.