Kathmandu, April 1 -- The air has finally cleared after a week in which hundreds of wildfires ravaged the Himalayan foothills and the Tarai, shrouding the whole country in smoke. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Kathmandu spiked to record levels for days on end.

Despite showers on Wednesday and Thursday over parts of the country, the fire calamity is not over yet. Projections show that the concentration of harmful particles below 2.5 microns in Kathmandu will continue to remain at unhealthy levels for another week.

One factor was the extended winter drought, with only 32mm of rain from October-March compared to 177mm, the same period last year in Kathmandu.

"Drought cycles are nothing new but this year we had an exceptionally dry winter,...