PM Modelling over Nepal with WRF-Chem

Very high particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) concentrations are observed in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. With an aim of gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of these air pollutants, PM and BC simulations with the WRF-Chem model have been performed. The comparison of the simulation results with measurements shows that the model strongly underestimated the measured PM and BC levels. It is concluded that this is mainly due to missing up-to-date high resolution information on emissions in the valley.