Westerly wind brings rain in most parts of country today; Snowfall affects normal life in mountainous areas of Mid and Far West

Kathmandu / Jan 24: Most parts of the country received rainfall today due to the influence of the westerly wind.

Likewise, all parts of the higher mountainous region have received snowfall due to the influence of the westerly wind, meteorologist Shanti Kandel said. According to her, the wind that entered Nepal from the western part since Tuesday night has spread its influence even to the eastern parts as of this morning.

She informed that the influence of the wind would diminish by the evening and the weather is expected to improve from Thursday.

Kathmandu Valley will experience an increase in cold today as the maximum temperature here will dip during the day, although the minimum temperature is recorded at 7.3 degrees celsius.

The latest weather data given by the Weather Forecasting Division shows that all places except Birendranagar received rainfall. Kathmandu received two millimetres rain while Dadeldhura got the highest of 12 millimetres of rainfall.

Snowfall makes life of earthquake survivors hard in Gorkha

Meanwhile, life has become difficult in settlements in the northern belt of Gorkha district following continuous snowfall since last night. Heavy snowfall has taken place in Chumanubri and Dharche.

Similarly, the earthquake survivors in Laprak have been hit hard due to the snowfall as they have been living in makeshift shelters.

Bhabiraj Gurung, Head Teacher at the Manikamdevi Secondary School, Laprak, said it has been snowing in the area since 4:00 am today. This is the first snowfall this year. According to him, the earthquake affected families living in makeshift shelters are worried over the increasing cold but at the same time are also happy that this will be good for their crops.

The quake survivors of Gupsipakha area are now living in temporary shelters in the forest at Rinajulung after the Non-Resident Nepalis Association started constructing homes for them there. The earthquake affected people of Laprak are living at their own houses in the village after the reconstruction.

Similarly, many places in Rasuwa district have received rainfall while the areas in the higher altitude received snowfall since this morning. It has been snowing at Gosainkunda, Langtang, Nakthali and other areas. Farmers are happy that the rain and snowfall will improve their crops in spite of the biting cold.

Likewise, in far-western mountainous Humla, snowfall has affected life in the district. Flights have been disrupted at the Simikot airport as it is covered with snow.

Snowfall affects normal life in mountainous areas of Mid and Far West

Meanwhile, snowfall that started since Tuesday evening in the mountainous areas of the Mid-western and Far-western regions, has affected everyday life of the local people.

People’s movement has been limited in the different rural municipalities of Bajura with transportation service getting halted due to heavy snowfall. The bus services from district headquarters Martadi to the northern region including Kolti have been disrupted. The local residents have been confined to their houses in the affected villages.

Likewise, rural villages of Bajhang including Kada, Dolichaur, Surma, and Gadara also witnessed the snowfall. Sheep grazing in the different parts of Mugu including Dolpu, Kirmi, and Polu have been hampered due to the snowfall according to local resident Lok Bahadur Biswokarma. He also informed that the transportation of goods also has been obstructed with snowfall blocking the road.

Meanwhile, the daily flights to the affected districts — Bajura, Humla, Jumla, Dolpa, and Mugu — from Nepalgunj have been disrupted according to Nepalgunj Civil Aviation office. Nepalgunj airport used to see 30-40 flights on a normal day.

Although the snowfall has affected daily life in these districts, farmers however, are hopeful of it benefiting agriculture and crop cultivation. “We had not seen rain since four months so we were in fear of our crops going dry. Now this snowfall has brought us some relief,” said Man Rokaya.