Kathmandu Valley residents rely on senses to assess air pollution

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Oct. 8: Most residents of the Kathmandu Valley consider air pollution a serious health risk, but the vast majority of those who monitor air quality rely on smell, visibility and eye irritation rather than official data, according to a new survey.

A survey of 1,200 Valley residents by Taza Initiative Nepal found that 81.2 per cent rated air pollution as hazardous to extremely hazardous to health. However, 94.1 per cent of those who check air quality said they rely only on their senses to assess pollution levels.

The findings were released by Taza Initiative Nepal, a non-profit organisation established in 2026 that works on research, air quality monitoring and evidence-based solutions to reduce air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley.

The survey also found that 52.3 per cent of respondents rated the air quality in their local areas as poor or very poor. Negative perceptions were highest in Lalitpur, where 60.9 per cent of respondents rated local air quality negatively, followed by Kathmandu at 59.2 per cent and Bhaktapur at 56.0 per cent. The figure was 35.9 per cent in North Kathmandu.

Access to information about air quality varied significantly according to educational attainment. Only 10.8 per cent of respondents with primary education or below said they knew how to check air quality, compared with 63 per cent of those with a master's degree or higher.