Numerical Simulation of Late Wintertime Local Flows in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: Implication for Air Pollution Transport

Abstract

Air pollution transport in the Kathmandu valley/basin has been investigated by numerical simulation of local flows and the observation of NO2 and SO2. The observation was performed at 22 sites with passive samplers from February to April 2001, and the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University?NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) was utilized for the flow simulation. The calculation reproduced reasonably well the surface wind and temperature at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) as well as the vertical wind profile taken at the center of the valley by sodar observation. The calculation showed that two characteristic local flows tend to intrude into the valley/basin in the afternoon through the mountain gaps surrounding Kathmandu, that is, the southwesterly from the Indian Plain and the northwesterly from the valley west to Kathmandu. These cool wind layers meet at the center of the Kathmandu basin and form a double-layering structure there. The lower layer is shallow with a depth of about 250 m, being composed of the cooler southwesterly air mass from the Indian Plain. It was concluded that this local flow structure suppresses vertical mixing and leads to high air pollution by decreasing the daytime ventilation of air mass over the valley. The observations performed during the period confirmed it.