Extreme heat in Kathmandu
A valley city warming fast, below the Himalayan ice that feeds South Asia’s rivers.
Heat type. Milder heat at altitude, hottest before the monsoon.
Heat action plan No published city heat plan found
No city heat action plan found. Nepal adopted a national plan of action on heat waves in 2024, and Nepalgunj, in the plains, wrote the country’s first local heat action plan in 2023.
Vicious cycles the evidence ties to Kathmandu
| Cycle | Why here | One action that breaks it |
|---|---|---|
| The melting-ice loop | The Hindu Kush Himalaya’s glaciers lost ice 65% faster in the 2010s, and could lose 30–50% of their volume by 2100. | Deep emission cuts |
| The medical-debt trap | In five cities in Nepal and Bangladesh, heat cut incomes and pushed some households towards high-interest loans. | Heat-safe work |
Who heat hits hardest here
- Women whose livelihoods are held back by unequal access
- Older people
Already at work here
- National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Nepal
- Nepal Red Cross Society
- Tewa, Nepal Women’s Fund
- Nepal Rastra Bank
- Practical Action
Listing does not imply partnership, affiliation or endorsement.
Four questions for Kathmandu’s heat plan
- Is it funded, with a named owner?
- Does it assess who is most vulnerable, and where they live?
- Does it have legal backing, so departments are required to act?
- Does it count indoor and night-time heat, not only daytime highs?
Official warnings: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology · Today’s heat and the week ahead: beattheheat.asia/#city-kathmandu
Sources
- Onlinekhabar, 2025. english.onlinekhabar.com/reassessing-nepals-heat-wave-response-lessons-from-2024-and-the-way-forward.html
- Nepalgunj Heat Action Plan, 2023. preparecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Nepalgunj-Heat-Action-Plan-2023.pdf
- ICIMOD, 2023. lib.icimod.org/record/36322
- Selvaraj, Farooqui and Karan, BMJ Open, 2018. bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/5/e018020
- Centre for Policy Research, 2023. cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action