By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Nov. 10: Kathmandu Valley denizens have already started feeling cold in the first week of November although mid-winter phenomenon is supposed to arrive only after three weeks. Winter season in Nepal peaks only in the first week of December.
Kathmandu recorded the lowest minimum temperature on Monday for the month of November, according to Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD).
Kathmandu recorded a minimum of 8 degrees Celsius at 6:45 am on Monday while the maximum temperature measured 23.8 Celsius.
According to Raju Pradhananga, meteorologist at MFD under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, minimum temperature in Kathmandu was 13 degrees Celsius on November 3 and remained constant at 13 degrees until November 5. Then it dropped to 10.2 degrees Celsius on November 6.
“Kathmandu has recorded the lowest minimum temperature on Monday (November 9) and this is the lowest temperature for the month of November,” Pradhananga said. On Saturday only, the minimum temperature was at 10 degrees Celsius.
After a sudden dip in minimum temperature, the general public have experienced considerable cold right since the first week of November.
"If the temperature had dropped gradually, we wouldn't have felt the cold all at once," he said. "Everyone has experienced a sudden drop in temperature."
There will be problem when both the minimum and maximum temperature start going down, he said. But this has not been happening in the day time in the Valley, he said.
The temperature in Jumla has dropped below zero. The minimum temperature in Jumla, which was -1 degree a couple of days ago, has dropped to -2 degrees on Saturday and on Monday (November 9) it was measured at -0.2 degrees.
The reason for this is that the weather is getting colder after the end of the monsoon season. Right since the beginning of November, temperature has been dropping at most stations of MFD, he said.
On November 9 of the previous year, the minimum temperature in Kathmandu was recorded at 10 degrees. At the same time last year, the minimum temperature in Pokhara had dropped to 13-15 degrees.
According to Pradhananga, the days are getting shorter after the end of monsoon. He said, "As the days get shorter, the sun's rays do not stay for a long time and make you feel cold."
This is the time of post-monsoon and westerly has started flowing to the east. After the end of monsoon, when the westerly winds come in contact with the snow in the mountains the temperature drops noticeably, he said.
"Now we are entering into winter season," said Pradhananga. "In winter, the days will be shorter and the nights longer.”
The sky has been changing for the past few days due to cloud cover. "As the clouds move in the sky or get cleared at night, the effect will be experienced the next morning," said Pradhananga.
Senior meteorologist Min Kumar Aryal remarked that the fall in temperature was a regular process as the influence of the westerly winds had increased.
"The monsoon is influenced by east-west winds and the temperature starts fluctuating," he said. "As the days get shorter, the weather starts changing. Both the minimum and maximum temperatures drop and we feel colder," he said.
“Kathmandu and other mountain districts will start experiencing more cold with chances of snowfall if there develops a sudden change in weather with chances of rainfall in the coming days,” Aryal said.