City report · Nepal
Kathmandu Air quality today
Air quality in Kathmandu currently reads AQI 132 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 132
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 48.0
- tree cover
- 9.4%
- trees in this area
- 29.5K
- more trees needed
- 80.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bhrikuti Mandap, Kathmandu, Bagmati Province 44600, Nepal (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kathmandu · AQI 132 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Kathmandu's tree count comes to 29,531 trees across 12.57 km², 26 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 80,425 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kathmandu today: AQI 132, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 21:45 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Chhetrapati (SC - 19) - GD Labs, 1.8 km away · median of 29 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
48.0
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Green Decision Labs and Research, Clean Energy Nepal (CEN), Sapana Bhujel, KIAS
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kathmandu's daily AQI at 103 on average, from 80 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 163 on Nov 7.
Where Kathmandu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kathmandu: Critically low
9.4% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
29,531
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
80,425
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,769 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kathmandu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kathmandu has lost about 198 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 4.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 198 haabout 280 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 173 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 25 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2007 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2010 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2017 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2018 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | 13 ha | 25 ha |
| 2022 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2024 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kathmandu?
- Towns and roadscleared for good85% · 167 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back7.2% · 14 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.1% · 6 ha
Also: logging, storms, floods and other natural causes, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 6,360 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,440 ha
- Overall change
- +77 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kathmandu stayed about the same size, at about 6,440 hectares: new forest grew on about 349 hectares, and about 271 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Kathmandu
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Janakpur123.7 km
Nepal
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 249
- Mothīhāri123.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 144
- Bettiah128.6 km
India
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 206
Also compared:Kathmandu vs Pokhara
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kathmandu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kathmandu right now?
The latest reading for Kathmandu shows an AQI of 132 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 21:45 local time by 29 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Chhetrapati (SC - 19) - GD Labs, 1.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kathmandu today?
At AQI 132 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Kathmandu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kathmandu's daily AQI at 103 on average, from 80 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 163 on Nov 7. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kathmandu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kathmandu has lost about 198 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 4.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kathmandu stayed about the same size, at about 6,440 hectares: new forest grew on about 349 hectares, and about 271 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kathmandu?
Kathmandu has an estimated 29,531 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 9.4% tree cover, 26 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kathmandu need?
Kathmandu needs roughly 80,425 more trees to close a 26-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,769 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kathmandu's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Bhrikuti Mandap, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Bhrikuti Mandap; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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