Rising temperature affects life nationwide

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 13: People across the country have been feeling an increase in temperature for the past few days. Even in Kathmandu, it is extremely hot in the daytime as it has not rained for the past week.   Meteorologists have predicted that the people in Kathmandu and elsewhere will continue to feel hot for another two days.

According to Nirajan Sapkota, a senior meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), there is no chance of rainfall for another two to three days and it will lead to further rise in the temperature across the nation.

The cyclone that entered from the east will not affect and will not bring the rains, he added. “There is no heatwave in the Terai to date but we are observing the temperature is increasing every other day,” Sapkota added.

The maximum temperature is increasing across the country. The highest temperature in Janakpur was recorded at 39.4 in Janakpur on Thursday. However, there was no data of Friday’s temperature as the Department’s website has stopped working, Sapkota said. 

Meanwhile, excessive heat has started making life difficult in the districts of Terai.

Temperatures have soared in the past week, which has made it hard for people to even leave the house.

"We cannot survive without a fan," said Shakti Paswan of Punarvas, Lalbandi Municipality–2. "There isn't a time of day when we are not drenched in sweat."

Paswan said that even the air felt hot on the skin. "The roads are all deserted. No one dares come out."

Schoolchildren, daily wage labourers and farmers have been most affected as they do not have the choice to stay at home and not go out in the sun. 

"The atmosphere is very dry and the wind blows a lot of dust around," shared Manoj Yadav of Phulparasi, Kaudena Rural Municipality. "It has made everyone very uncomfortable."

He added that people were bathing in ponds and canals to beat the heat. The sales of cold drinks and juicy fruits like watermelons have also gone up.

The scorching heat has also made many sick, informed Dr. Nawal Kishor Jha, acting medical superintendent at the Provincial Hospital in Malangwa. "Cases of diarrhoea, indigestion, typhoid, fever, cough, tonsilitis and other heat-related diseases have gone up," he said, advising people to stay hydrated and not go outside without any work.

(With input from our Sarlahi correspondent Janarjan Khatri)