Weather stations established in various places

Kathmandu, June 29: The Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of Tribhuvan University has established automatic climate stations in various places across the country to collect data related to rainfall and climate.

The automatic weather measurement centres have been established at 150 meters above sea level at the School of Agriculture, Far Western University, and at an elevation of 1,300 metres in Mangalsen Municipality of Achham. These two centres were established this week. 

Last month, similar stations were established in Jomsom at an elevation of 2,800 meters and Upper Mustang at an altitude of 4,000 meters.

These climate stations aim to provide timely climate and disaster-related information to the citizens and for research purposes from a broader perspective, said Dr. Madan Sigdel, Associate Professor at the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, TU.

“Elevation is very important to find out the exact data of temperature, rainfall patterns and humidity from different locations, so we established the centres from the Tarai to the mountains,” he said.

The centres will measure temperature, rainfall, wind speed and solar radiation in the region, providing new data every half hour.The station established at the School of Agriculture, Far Western University, will help students learn and provide data for their practical classes, Dr. Sigdel said.

 The Mangalsen station is focused on the mid-hill area while the stations in Jomsom and Upper Mustang aim to identify the real situation of climate change in the Himalayan region.

The climate sector has limited data and data gaps, so the centres have been established to generate information and fill the data gap, Dr. Sigdel added. 

The centre in Mangalsen Municipality of Achham has been established for agro-meteorology focusing on agriculture. Tikapur in Kailali is a key area for agriculture. It will also provide data on soil radiation, soil conductivity and soil temperature in the area.

The municipality plans to provide training to its staff working under the Climate Change and Disaster Unit and to the community about early warning and information about disasters, he said.

The municipality is also planning to allocate a budget for the upcoming fiscal year for the training. “They have to learn how much rainfall is disastrous and how much is normal at a basic level,” Dr. Sigdel added.

The seven climate stations are set up by bringing sensors from the US; four of them have already been established. The remaining one is planned to be established in Lumbini, near the Mayadevi temple, and another in Biratnagar at a B.Sc. Campus, Dr. Sigdel said.

The establishment of each centre costs Rs. 3 million to Rs. 4 million. They are established with support from international agencies, as TU itself is not in the condition to establish the centres, he added.

Dr. Sigdel said that the climate measurement centres would play a significant role in providing information on climate change and disaster reduction. The DHM has mostly manual stations, and they might not provide accurate data.

Mayor Padam Bahadur Bohara of Mangalsen Municipality stated that the centre was established, but they were unaware of the technology used in the centre. “We are planning to provide training to IT staff, staff working under the agriculture unit. 

There is also an agriculture college that will help them learn about the climatic situation of the area,” he added. He is confident that the centre would help mitigate the effects and damage caused by increasing climate change.

Dr. Sigdel informed that while the centre has only been established for now, the municipality would allocate the necessary budget and advance further processes to obtain accurate information soon.