Kathmandu, Oct. 23 -- The winter air pollution season started early this year with emissions, Diwali firecrackers and crop residue burning making the air unbreathable across north India.

Much of the pollution was transboundary, with prevailing winds carrying the suspended particulates from Pakistan, across India to Nepal and beyond.

All this pollution and domestic emissions killed 41,300 in Nepal in 2023, and 85% of all deaths were because of noncommunicable diseases such as heart and lung disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and dementia, according to the State of Global Air (SoGA) 2025 report released Thursday.

With the onset of winter, Kathmandu Valley's own emissions are trapped in a surface inversion layer and as in previous years will...