Widespread rain and snow have occurred in Nepal as a result of an active Western Disturbance (WD) in last 24-48 hours. The last WD was a very strong one and affected the entire country starting from the west all the way to the east. The places which recorded good rain during the last 24 hours are: Dipayal 71 mm, Dadeldhura 67 mm, Dhangadhi 64mm, Jumla and Surkhet 56 mm each, Bhairawa 26 mm, Dhankuta 17 mm, Okhladhunga 14 mm, Taplejung and Kathmandu 10 mm each. Last week also a WD moved across the country causing scattered rain. As a result of the combined effect of the WDs, some of the areas recorded more than 100 mm of rain during the last six days. These places are: Dadeldhura 183 mm, Dipayal 141 mm and Dhangadhi 98 mm. All this rain has brought down temperatures and caused a lot if inconvenience to the people of Nepal, who were preparing for summers and were taken by surprise by this wet spell.
WD is a common term used to describe weather activity during winters. Dr R.M. Saxena, Professional Meteorologist at Skymet Weather defines Western Disturbance as “a low pressure area or a trough over surface or the upper-air in the westerly winds regime, north of 20°N, causing changes in pressure, wind pattern and temperature fields. It is accompanied by cloudiness, with or without precipitation.” WDs originate in the Caspian Sea or the Mediterranean Sea. They travel west to east covering Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern parts of India along with Nepal. WDs moves across India throughout the year, but their effects are felt mainly in the winter months when it is at its peak.
In the next week another spell of rain is expected to occur over Nepal.
