Nepal as a Hotspot of the Combined Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Change: Research Gaps and Way Forward

Despite its negligible greenhouse gas emissions and low level of industrialization, Nepal faces a twin crisis of air pollution and climate change. The resulting health and economic losses fall disproportionately on Indigenous and marginalized communities. Yet research and policy responses treat air pollution and climate change separately, even though air pollution is the leading risk factor for death and climate-sensitive diseases and risks are increasing. This fragmented, siloed approach wastes scarce resources and misses opportunities for co-benefits. Policy makers need integrated, evidence-based strategies that jointly address air quality and climate risks, with health and equity at the center. Nepal should invest in inter- and transdisciplinary research that links environmental, health, and socio-economic data to guide coherent, cross-sectoral action. Finally, air quality and climate solutions must explicitly prioritize poor, Indigenous, and marginalized communities to protect health, strengthen resilience, and advance climate justice.