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With the monsoon long gone, rains are not even on the horizon even as dust and smoke continue to give every living entity a hard time, in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley and other urban centers of the country.  

At 4:01 pm on Thursday, Kathmandu stood 18th (not so proudly) on the air quality index with a score of 123 (an air monitoring website considers the AQI between 101-150 as unhealthy for sensitive groups) far behind Tashkent (218), Kolkata (230). Lahore (217), Delhi (192), Hanoi (182), Dhaka (181), Mumbai (178), Almaty (163), Wuhan (160), Krakow (154), Kabul (153), Doha (140), Sarajevo (140), Karachi (133), Shenzhen (127) and Guangzhou (127). 

Even a cursory look at air quality monitoring sites suggests that we survive somehow in a neighborhood where pollution has crossed limits. 

Major cities in our neighborhood experiencing "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy" AQIs for days on end and posing serious health risks to residents, especially children and the elderly, should be a matter of serious concern for our government because we the inhabitants of this living planet breathe the same air and live under the same sky, and pollution anywhere affects us all everywhere.

An alarming situation like this calls for serious transboundary talks aimed at mitigating the debilitating impact, but the government appears to have other priorities, including the extension of South Asia’s first cross-border petroleum pipeline to Kathmandu via Chitwan and the construction of another such pipeline in eastern Nepal along with the construction of storage facilities. In a country where petroleum imports already account for a lion’s share of the trade deficit, the development and expansion of petroleum import infrastructure is sure to bleed the national economy further, apart from taking a heavier toll on public health due to increased emissions resulting from a surge in the consumption of dirty fuels.

In summary, a lush-green country (Nepal has increased its forest cover from 29 percent in 1994 to around 50 percent) taking pride in her nominal carbon footprint must go greener by taking measures such as reduced consumption of petroleum products, adoption of green technologies and engaging in climate diplomacy with neighbors and the rest of the world to curb pollution, air pollution in particular, that has been severely affecting everything and being—from the world’s tallest peak, the Sagarmatha, to flora and fauna to every ordinary Nepali with extraordinary potential. 

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 900 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 252, 400 per tola today.  It was traded at Rs 253, 300 per tola on Thursday. 

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 70 and is being traded at Rs 3, 555 per tola.

Nepal has stressed on the need of glorious journey towards building prosperous society and sustaining development when the Least Developed Countries are transformed into the developing countries. 

Likewise, Nepal has laid emphasis on extending financial and integrated assistance to the LDCs. 

At the high-level discussion on Thursday on building a global partnership for the sustainable development of least developed countries, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai emphasized these issues as the chair of the LDC group. 

The meeting was organized in Doha by the Office of the United Nations High Representative for Least Developed, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States and the Qatar Fund. 

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the meeting, the Foreign Secretary met with Deodat Maharaj, Managing Director of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, and conveyed Nepal's expectation of support from the bank to facilitate Nepal's journey from a least developed to a developing country. 

On that occasion, they also discussed the role of the bank and opportunities for cooperation. 

The Nepali Congress has once again pulled itself back from the brink. After weeks of infighting over the timing of its General Convention, the party’s rival factions have finally settled on holding the gathering in early January. This compromise has, for now, quieted calls from the dissident camp for a special convention. Still, the truce remains fragile. Lingering disputes over active membership lists and the selection of convention representatives continue to cast doubt on whether the event can proceed as planned.

Against this uncertain backdrop, the leadership race is already underway. With national elections set for March 5, the NC is grappling with a strategic dilemma: should it overhaul its leadership before going to the polls, or wait until after the election to avoid further internal turbulence? The establishment and reformist camps are pulling in opposite directions, and their tug-of-war is shaping the party’s pre-election mood.

Across the aisle, the CPN-UML is moving ahead with preparations for its own national convention, scheduled for Dec 13–15 in Kathmandu. Yet instead of the usual sense of momentum, insiders describe an unexpected fatigue within the party. Local representatives in several districts have shown limited interest in internal elections, raising concerns among senior leaders. Many fear that if the grassroots remain disengaged now, they may not mobilize effectively during the national campaign.

The convention itself is expected to stage a high-stakes showdown between incumbent chair KP Sharma Oli and senior leader Ishwar Pokhrel. Oli maintains that he welcomes democratic competition but warns that a bruising leadership battle could leave the party divided at a critical moment. His preferred path of reaching consensus and avoiding internal bloodshed reflects the anxiety within the party ahead of the March polls.

Meanwhile, one of Nepal’s most popular technocrats is venturing deeper into the political arena. Kul Man Ghising, celebrated for ending load-shedding during his tenure at the Nepal Electricity Authority and now serving as a minister in the Karki-led government, has been crisscrossing the country in what increasingly resembles a shadow political campaign.

Though Ghising holds no formal party post, he is widely perceived as the driving force behind the newly launched Ujyaalo Nepal Party, fronted by former energy secretary Anup Upadhyaya. His appearance as the chief guest at the party’s Dec 4 inauguration has sparked debate about whether a sitting minister should be helping build a political organization. The presence of former Rastriya Swatantra Party MP Sumana Shrestha added to speculation that the party may be attracting disenchanted reformists from across the political spectrum.

On the left, Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Nepali Communist Party has begun staging large mass meetings nationwide in an effort to project unity and strength after months of defections and organizational stagnation. Despite skepticism from rivals, turnout has been substantial, suggesting that Nepal’s fragmented left may still command an energized base heading into the elections.

Amid this churn, new political outfits continue to emerge almost weekly. As a result, Kathmandu is buzzing with speculation about potential pre-election alliances among them. Many observers believe only a coordinated front can challenge the traditional parties, whose supporters are showing signs of deepening disillusionment. A unified bloc of new parties could reshape the electoral battlefield and force the NC, UML, and the Maoist Centre into a more defensive posture.

Foreign relations are also subtly influencing political conversations. KP Sharma Oli’s decision to attend China’s Victory Day parade in September has left lingering discomfort in Tokyo, where officials had hoped he would decline the invitation given the event’s wartime symbolism. Even so, Japan has continued its development partnership with Nepal without interruption. This year alone, it has signed a ¥2.8bn grant for emergency rehabilitation of the flood-damaged Sindhuli Road and approved a Rs 31bn loan to upgrade the congested Koteshwor intersection. As one senior diplomat put it, “Japan has helped Nepal without strategic strings for decades. Future prime ministers should avoid needless missteps.”

Nepal also received a diplomatic boost this week with the appointment of Lt Gen Ganesh Kumar Shrestha as the new Force Commander of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei. A veteran with 36 years of service, Shrestha has led major divisions within the Nepali Army and served as Sector Commander in UNMISS, further reinforcing Nepal’s reputation as a committed peacekeeping nation.

Back home, negotiations between the government and the GenZ protest groups, whose nationwide demonstrations in September shook the political establishment, have stalled. More than 50 youth groups have submitted demands centered on swift and credible action against corruption. Recent high-profile arrests have raised hopes that the government may finally be allowing state institutions to act without political interference. Whether this represents genuine reform or tactical appeasement remains one of the capital’s most debated questions.

Despite the political noise, the Election Commission has begun setting up offices across the country in preparation for the March 5 polls. The government is reportedly preparing to recommend several electoral reforms to President Ram Chandra Poudel, including the introduction of a “None of the Above” (NOTA) option on the ballot—a proposal gaining support amid widespread frustration with political elites.

Yet major parties appear more preoccupied with internal disputes than with election readiness. A new theory circulating in Kathmandu suggests the government may even consider postponing the polls to give newly formed parties more breathing room. However, President Poudel is said to be pushing firmly for elections to proceed on schedule, warning that any delay could trigger a constitutional crisis.