Pollution intrusion

I wrote about pollution in Nepal and Tibet just before leaving for India. Perhaps I spoke too soon, as the air quality the day I left Kathmandu was the worst I’d seen it so far. Thick smog hangs over the city and mingles with naturally-occurring mists. Arriving in Delhi, the cloud over Kathmandu looked like child’s play. Visibility was a few hundred meters, I’d guess, and exhaust, dust, and smoke clogged my lungs immediately. Dust hangs on every leaf. I don’t know what has made it so bad – the weather of global weirding or perhaps just this dry season? The dreadful combination of increased vehicles on the road (leading to more traffic) and low-quality fuels? Burning garbage? Whatever it is, lungs and throats burn at the first introduction, and the situation is untenable.