No significant change in next few days
KATHMANDU, Jan 7: The denizens of Kathmandu Valley experienced their coldest morning in three years on Monday, with the temperature reaching minus zero.
The Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) recorded the minimum temperature at -0.7 degree Celsius on Monday morning. As the maximum temperature also failed to rise above 16.4 degrees Celsius, Valley residents felt severe cold even at noon. [break]
This is the first time in the last three years that the Valley´s minimum temperature touched minus zero. In the last two winters since, Valley temperatures had not gone below zero.
On January 14 last year, MFD had recorded a minimum temperature of zero Celsius. A year before, on January 10 and 14, the lowest temperature was 0.5 Celsius.
It was on January 12, 2010 that the Valley temperature had gone below zero. The lowest temperature recorded then was minus 0.2 Celsius, which is slightly lower than that on Monday.
People struggle to find their way in foggy morning. (Photo: Dipesh Shrestha)
Rajendra Shrestha, senior meteorologist at MFD, says that Valley dwellers will experience extreme cold weather for the next couple of days. "The weather will remain as now for the next few days," he said.
MFD has forecast that Valley temperatures will hit minus one Celsius by Monday night or Tuesday morning.
The minimum Valley temperature has dropped as low as -3.5 degrees Celsius, in 1978, MFD said.
Temperatures in the entire hill region across the country are also chilling cold in the morning with little relief in the afternoon, MFD said. A maximum temperature of 16.4 degrees was recorded Monday afternoon.
"The temperature has fallen due to a cold wave from the north-west," senior meteorologist Shrestha said. He said that a north-western wind has caused a drastic drop in the mercury and temperatures might remain between -1 and 1 for the next couple of days.
Shrestha said the freezing temperature in the capital was not unexpected.
Meanwhile, MDF said that life in the entire Tarai has been crippled the past several days due to bone-chilling cold. The naximum temperature has fallen to 10 to 12 degrees and there is not much difference between minimum and maximum temperatures.
"The real cold is in the Tarai region. Due to dense fog people have not seen the sun for the past several days. Life has become so much harsher there," he added. MFD said that the temperature might rise if there is rainfall.
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