As the remnant of burning fossil fuels, NO_x plays a key role in atmospheric and biogeochemical cycle. NO_x in the atmosphere reacts to NO₃^- finally. In order to research the historical variation of NO_x in the atmosphere in Asia, in this paper, a nitrate record covering the period 1600-1997 from the Dasuopu Glacier in the Himalayas is analyzed. The result reveals that the Himalayas are sensitive to anthropogenic activity in southern Asia. Before 1870 atmospheric nitrate concentration in the Dasuopu ice core was relatively low and constant, but thereafter the concentration increased. Annually average nitrate concentrations doubled from 49 μL·m^-3 in the first half of the 19th century to ~96  μL·m^-3 in the period from 1930 to 1997 and reached to a maximum of 115 ppb in the period from 1970 to 1997. From 1600 to 1870 the changing tendency of nitrate concentration was near zero. However, in the period 1871-1997 a tendency of 4.3 μL·m^-3 per decade was statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. This increasing rate had doubled to an average of 8.9 μL·m^-3 per decade from 1930 to 1997, with an acceleration of 16.4 μL·m^-3 per decade from 1970 to 1997. This acceleration in nitrate deposition was paralleled by a growing NO_x emission over southern Asia resulted from an increasing energy demand. The snow accumulated annually on the Himalayan ice fields, such as the Dasupou Glacier, provides an excellent recording system that can monitor the current anthropogenic emissions.