KATHMANDU: Minimum temperature in Kathmandu during the winter season over the last six years has been found plummeting, according to the records of the Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD).
Winter season in Nepal normally begins from the second week of December and lasts till mid-February. According to MFD under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the average minimum temperature of Kathmandu for the month of December is usually 3.7 degrees Celsius.
On Saturday (December 28, 2019), Kathmandu had this season’s lowest minimum temperature at 0.3 degrees Celsius.
There was the record on January 7, 2018, that the minimum temperature sharply came down up to 0.0 degrees Celsius, MFD informed.
Within the next two weeks, Kathmandu’s minimum temperature may plummet further- to minus level from next week, with the likelihood of winter rainfall due to westerly wind. If this happens, the Valley’s minimum temperature may experience below freezing level, senior Meteorologist Min Kumar Aryal said.
A glance at Kathmandu’s minimum temperature records, from 2014 to 2019 A.D, shows the minimum temperature was going down every winter season.
According to the MFD’s records, in 2014, the minimum temperature of Kathmandu was recorded 1.7 degrees Celsius on December 12, 0.2 degree Celsius on December 26 in 2015, 2.2 on December 23 in 2016.
Also, in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, the lowest minimum temperature was recorded 0.4 on January 14, 0.0 on January 7, and 0.5 on December 25, respectively. Except in the year 2016, all other years of minimum temperature were recorded at almost one or zero degrees Celsius.
The second reason behind the increasing cold in Kathmandu is due to wind that blows from the north-western region of Nepal. This wind develops in the Mediterranean Sea and blows abutting Jammu-Kashmir, Himanchal provinces of India. The third reason is the seasonal one that happens after winter rainfall.
Meanwhile, senior meteorologist Rajendra Kumar Shrestha said Kathmandu for the past three years had been witnessing some imbalanced minimum temperature.
He predicted that from next week of Thursday to Friday, Kathmandu again likely to have second winter rainfall of this season, and if this happens, Kathmandu’s minimum temperature might go down up to minus level.
From the coming Sunday, western Nepal will gradually start witnessing cloudy weather and likely to have rainfall from Monday to Wednesday.
According to him, the minimum temperature of Kathmandu depleted so fast in the past two weeks due to first winter rainfall on December 13. The westerly wind is again going to develop so fast within two weeks of the first winter rainfall, which is also leading to a sharp decline in minimum temperature, Shrestha said.
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