By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Mar. 15: Meteorologists have asked people to take precautionary measures and stay alert to lightning with the onset of pre-monsoon season in the country.
“With the start of pre-monsoon season, there will be high risk of rains with the wind, thunder and lightning in the evening, so people should stay most alert during the pre-monsoon period from March to May,” said Prativa Manandhar, senior meteorologist at the Weather Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
She said that the hilly region of the county has been predicted with light rain with storms and thunder as the region witnesses partly cloudy to general weather change during evening time.
She informed that the hilly belt in the country was seeing light rain with a storm due to the impact of local weather and a westerly wind, however the weather remains clear in the Terai belt. During this pre-monsoon period, the day begins with sun and clear weather till afternoon and rains with wind, thunder and lightning in the evening in Nepal.
Currently, there is partial to moderate cloud cover in the Far West, Karnali, Gandaki, Lumbini and Bagmati regions and light rain with thunderstorms is occurring in a few places. As this evolving system is moving from west to east, it is requested to take necessary precautions. The situation will remain the same for the next three to four days, she added.
Pre-monsoon season begins in March, she added. Potent lightning occurs during this season because of the blend of local wind with a westerly wind.
The Weather Forecasting Division has recorded that Kathmandu saw the minimum temperature at 9.4 degrees Celsius and the maximum at 22.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Similarly, Jumla witnessed the lowest temperature in the country at 1.5 degrees Celsius.