Why the mighty Himalayas are getting harder and harder to see

I watched the Himalayas growing up in Nepal’s money. I’ve missed sweeping, breathtaking views of some of the highest hill peaks on Earth since I left.

I aspire to see the impressive rock spectrum whenever I travel to Kathmandu. However, there is typically no fortune these times.

Graved air pollutants, which hangs as cloud above the area, is the main culprit.

And it continues even during the once-clear stars of the spring and fall.

Because of the foggy weather affecting visibility at the airport, the global flight I was on had to group in the sky almost 20 times before landing in Kathmandu only last April.

There was no day like that during my two-week stay, but the hotel I checked into had a sensible elevation where mountains are accessible on clear days.

Even from the main point of view, which is located just outside of Kathmandu, all that could be seen was cloud, as if the hills did not exist.

Yogendra Shakya, who has been running a motel in Nagarkot since 1996, said,” I no longer model the area for opinions of “roast, twilight, and Himalayas” as I did in the past.

” I have rebranded it with history and culture as there are those hospitality products as well here because you didn’t have those items generally now because of the fog.”

I had a bad experience that when I went on a previous trip a year ago and was hoping to see the magnificent Himalayan peaks while hiking in the stunning Annapurna region.

According to scientists, presence is severely reduced by the region’s foggy conditions, which are getting worse and worsening.

Haze is created by a combination of fire-related pollutants, such as dust and smoke, that reduces visibility to less than 5, 000 meters ( 16, 400 feet ). It persists in the sky during the dry season, which has now lasted more as a result of climate change.

The state’s rainy season occurs between June and September when the mountains are covered in a cloud and visibility is low due to the absence of haze.

The best months for company were typically March to May and October to November because that was when the clouds remained distinct and presence was highest.

However, the spring months are now seeing heavy fog and reduced visibility due to rising temperatures, a lack of weather, and worsening air pollution. The situations are forming in December.

Happy Chhetri, a pioneering women trekking manual in Nepal, claimed that business had decreased by 40 % due to foggy conditions.

” Our instructions were unable to show them the Himalayas in one case last year because of the hazy circumstances,” she continued.

A visitor from Australia who has been to Nepal more than a dozen days since 1986 referred to the lack of mountains as a “major let-down.”

” It wasn’t like this ten years ago, but now the fog seems to have vanished, and it’s incredibly disappointing for customers like me,” said John Carrol.

The northern Gandaki province’s Trekking Agents Association, led by Krishna KC, claims that the backpacking industry is in serious trouble.

” Our part sightseeing providers are becoming depressed because no company is being impacted by no sight of the Himalayas.” Many of them are actually thinking about changing careers, he told the BBC.

Hoteliers and tour operators on the American side claim that haze is now heavier and returns more quickly than before, close to the main Himalayas.

” Unlike in the past, we have longer dry spells followed by a large storm.” So the fog persists for a very long time with frequent rain, according to Malika Virdi, who runs a community-run tourism company in the state of Uttarakhand.

But, Ms. Virdi claims that tourists are frequent, with many who returned to try their luck once more after missing the mountain range.

Because the hills are so far from cities, the cloud has been less harmful to the northern Himalayas in Pakistan.

Locals claim, however, that even the mountain ranges that were once obscured by areas like Peshawar and Gilgit are frequently no longer noticeable.

Asif Shuja, the former head of Pakistan’s environmental protection agency, said,” The plate of cloud hangs for a longer period of time and we don’t see the hills that we could have.”

South Asian cities consistently rank among the sites with the worst heat pollution in the world.

The dangerous heat, which often causes vacation disruption and school closures, has had a significant impact on public health across the region.

Air pollution from vehicles and industries, dust from dry gravel roads and infrastructure construction, as well as the empty burning of waste are big sources year-round.

This is made worse by the dust from huge forest fires, which are getting worse as the dry season gets longer, and the farmers in northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal burning crop residue after the harvest.

These pollutants are entrapped in warmer air by warmer weather, which prevents horizontal air movement.

According to Dr. Someshwor Das of the South Asia Meteorological Association,” Hazes and sand storms are becoming more frequent in South Asia, and this trend is expected to continue due to climate change and other elements.”

According to Nepal’s division of drainage and weather, 168 foggy times were recorded at the airports in Pokhara, a big tourism hub in northern Nepal, in 2024, an increase from 23 in 2020 and 84 in 2021.

Given that they are located in a highly populated and polluted area, experts say the Himalayas are probably the worst-affected mountain range in the world.

This could mean that the breathtaking views of the Himalayas are now largely limited to photographs, paintings, and postcards.

When we are unable to show our clients the mountains they pay for, said trekking leader Ms Chhetri,” we are left to do business with guilt.”

And” The haze cannot be eliminated.”