High resolution air quality simulation in the Himalayan valleys, a case study in Bhutan

Bessagnet, Bertrand; Thapa, Narayan; Bajgai, Dikra Prasad; Sahu, Ravi; Saikia, Arshini; Cholakian, Arineh; Menut, Laurent; Siour, Guillaume; Wangchuk, Tenzin; Crippa, Monica; Gurung, Kamala

doi:10.5194/acp-25-18675-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 24

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-18675-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-18675-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 24

Research article

|

22 Dec 2025

Research article |

| 22 Dec 2025

High resolution air quality simulation in the Himalayan valleys, a case study in Bhutan

Bertrand Bessagnet, Narayan Thapa, Dikra Prasad Bajgai, Ravi Sahu, Arshini Saikia, Arineh Cholakian, Laurent Menut, Guillaume Siour, Tenzin Wangchuk, Monica Crippa, and Kamala Gurung

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-18675-2025-supplement

Model code and software

chimere_v2023r1 L. Menut et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10907951

Video supplement

Impact of wildfires on Bhutan environment Bertrand Bessagnet https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16526751

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Short summary

This study highlights the use of numerical tools at very high resolution to support the Air Quality monitoring strategy in the Himalayan valley which suffer from Air Pollution. For the first time ever, a high resolution simulation is performed in Bhutan showing the high PM_2.5 concentrations within the valleys and potential contaminations up to the glaciers enhancing climate related risks.