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By Our Reporter

This winter season that is going to end soon is one of the driest winter seasons in the last 15 years.

There has been little rain or snowfall this year. As a result, mountains are without snow while the drought has badly affected crop production in districts like Jajarkot and Dolakha.

For example, Dolakha used to receive heavy snowfall three times between November and January, but that is not the case this winter as it has not received a single snowfall as of February 5. 

Located in the upper hills, Dolakha is the district where snowfall is nothing unusual. The absence of snowfall this year has led the mountains to look barren, standing tall yet losing crucial aesthetic snowy tops. 

Hotel owners and entrepreneurs in Dolakha used to welcome a large number of internal and international tourists. But, this year the hotels remain quiet, with a sharp drop in tourism activities around the regions, even in the Kalinchowk area.

Popular tourist sites like Kalinchowk, Jiri, Sailung and Kharidhunga, which used to be often blanketed in snow like silver, lay barren this winter.

Likewise, winter crops started drying in Jajarkot as reported by the media in Kathmandu.

According to experts, there has been a significant change in the winter rainfall pattern over the past few years. Previously, it used to rain from mid-November to mid-December), followed by a dry period from mid-December to mid-January) and then rains again in mid-January.

Nepal started experiencing winter droughts from 2009 and it recurred in 2016 and 2019. Severer was this year. There has been a complete absence of winter rainfall for consecutive three years.

The westerly winds used to bring rainfall to the country, but global warming has disrupted this system. Changes in the polar region and the jet stream are affecting the westerly winds.

There is no snow in the mountains. Without winter rainfall, there will be no additional snow in the mountains. This will undoubtedly affect the lower regions, impacting agricultural productivity and water sources.