Season’s first snowfall pleases farmers

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 10: With the winter season at its peak, the country is experiencing extreme cold, accompanied by snowfall in the mountainous regions. 

The country is currently experiencing the influence of westerly winds, which bring moisture from the west. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), these winds often result in cloudy skies, light to moderate rain in lower regions and snowfall in higher altitudes. 

The department said that the westerly winds also bring moisture that leads to cooler temperatures in the plains, leading to the formation of mist which is very common in the Tarai region. On Sunday, the mountainous districts in Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces received snowfall. 

 Our Bajura correspondent Sher Bahadur Sharki reported that the district's higher Himalayan regions received snowfall, affecting normal life. Areas such as Badimalika, Budhinanda, Jagnath and Swamikartik have been experiencing heavy snowfall since last night. Thick snow cover has made it difficult for children and the elderly to move outdoors. Moreover, grazing livestock such as cows, buffaloes and sheep has become a problem as snow blankets the ground.

Students are also finding it challenging to attend school. According to Kusang Kuwar Bhote, a fourth-grader at Siddheshwari Orphan and Indigenous Residential School in Budhinanda Municipality-9, the cold has disrupted their studies. “If we had warm clothes, it would be easier to cope with the cold. Attending schools without warm clothes is very difficult,” he said.

This school primarily serves orphans and underprivileged children, including those from Indigenous and Dalit communities. For the past two years, the school has been offering accommodation and education to these children despite financial difficulties.

Since snowfall began on Sunday night, the school has started making fires to keep the students warm. 

The school's headmaster, Tul Bahadur Rawat, explained, “Most of the children here belong to the Bhote community, whose primary occupation is livestock farming. They often move between the plains and the mountains, which causes their studies to be interrupted. To prevent this, we have been keeping the children here for a few years now to ensure they can continue their education without disruption.”

The school is located in a high-altitude, Himalayan region, which experiences heavy snowfall. In previous years, the snow was so heavy that it persisted for nearly a week. During that time as well, the school managed to retain students in schools by making fires, Rawat recalled.

Recently, the school received socks and warm caps from a donor, which have helped the children stay warm to some extent. However, students said, “If kind-hearted people provide more warm clothes, it will make a huge difference and help us cope with this cold.”

Likewise, Our Darchula Correspondent reported that Apihimal and Vyas rural municipalities of the district also received snow, affecting normal life.  

Similarly, our Humla correspondent Rajan Rawat reported that the Himalayan district of Humla too witnessed its first snowfall of the season, which began at 2 am on Monday.

Snowfall started late Sunday night and by Monday afternoon Simkot, the district headquarters, had accumulated three inches of snow. In higher-altitude areas like Limi in the northern Namkha Rural Municipality, the snow depth reached one foot.

Deepak Bhandari, the head of Manasarovar Multiple Campus, reported that the weather was clear until midnight on Sunday, but snowfall began unexpectedly at 2 am.  Due to this, the daytime temperature has dropped to minus five degrees Celsius. Snowfall has turned Simkot and other surrounding highlands completely white, disrupting daily life in northern areas such as Chala, Limi, Hilsa, Yari and Muchu.

However, farmers are happy after the snowfall. According to Chakra Rawat, a farmer from Simkot Rural Municipality-5, the snowfall has brought hope to farmers, as it is believed to improve weather conditions and support winter crops like wheat, barley and oats planted in November. Previously, farmers were concerned as seeds sown in October had not germinated.

At the same time, the route to Limi, a village beyond the Himalayas in Namkha Rural Municipality-6, has been closed due to heavy snowfall at the 5,000-metre-high Nyalu Pass, making travel to the area impossible. The DHM has predicted that most parts of the central and eastern Tarai are experiencing mist, with some areas seeing fog. Light rain is occurring in a few places in  Sudurpashchim and Karnali Provinces, while the highland areas are expected to receive light to moderate snowfall.