‘Country experiencing heat waves not Loo’

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 21: The Meteorological Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said that the country has not experienced Loo which is a strong, dusty, gusty, hot and dry summer wind from the west that blows over the Indo-Gangetic Plain region of North India and Pakistan.

However, the country has encountered only heat waves this pre-monsoon season. 

The temperature in Tarai districts is below 40 degrees Celsius.

“The alert was forecast for three days until Sunday, but the maximum temperature in the Tarai districts was below 40 degrees Celsius on Monday, and it will not exceed that temperature for another three days,” said Saroj Pudasaini, a senior meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division. 

The temperature in Nepalgunj reached 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday, but it decreased to 38.2 degrees Celsius on Monday, he informed.

He said he was unaware of the media reports that mentioned Loo in the Tarai districts, and he clarified, “We have not announced Loo so far this year.”

Meanwhile, our Nepalgunj correspondent, Siraj Khan, reported that Nepalgunj has initiated the Heat Wave Project to protect its citizens from the heat wave situation in the area, which has been experiencing hot days for the past few days.

The project has been initiated in Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, Khajura Rural Municipality, Narainapur Rural Municipality of Nepalgunj and Gulariya Municipality of Bardiya for 45 days. 

The project, which began in coordination with local government and non-governmental organisations on May 17, 2024, will run until July 1, 2024, said Irshad Sheikh, Project Manager of Qatar Charity Nepal. 

The project aims to address the extreme heat and scorching winds that have significantly affected the marginalised groups such as Dalits, displaced individuals, single women, persons with disabilities, pregnant women and lactating mothers, he added.