The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said that the monsoon is likely to enter Bagmati Province, including Kathmandu Valley, on Thursday.

Even though the monsoon clouds entered the country from eastern Nepal on June 10, three days ahead of the usual onset date, they are not spreading throughout the country because of the presence of westerly winds in the western part of the country.

According to Saroj Pudasaini, a meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, it used to take one week to 10 days for the monsoon to spread throughout the country from the eastern part, but this time, it is taking longer time due to the influence of westerly winds.

“There should be a dominant eastern wind to spread the monsoon throughout the country, but this time, due to the weakness of the 850 hectopascal (hPa) level, which is used to measure atmospheric pressure, it is taking longer for the monsoon to reach the western part of the country,” Pudasaini said.

The rainfall in Gandaki and Bagmati Provinces on Monday and Tuesday was due to local winds formed in Gandaki Province, but from Thursday, there is likely to occur monsoon rain in the two provinces, Pudasaini said.

There is still an influence of westerly winds in Gandaki and Sudurpashchim provinces while Koshi and Bagmati provinces will receive monsoon rain on Thursday. The monsoon winds have not been activated due to the insufficient development of orographic lift in the terrain of western Nepal, he said.

The Tarai districts are still experiencing a heatwave, with maximum temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. The DHM has predicted the heatwave to continue till Thursday. On Wednesday, the maximum temperature in Nepalgunj was recorded at 41.5 degrees Celsius while it was 40.2 degrees Celsius in Dipayal, 42 degrees Celsius in Dhangadhi and 40 degrees Celsius in Birendranagar. The maximum temperature in Kathmandu on Thursday was recorded at 30.6 degrees Celsius.

Out of 181 rainfall measurement stations, Biratnagar received the highest rainfall at 133 mm in the last 24 hours. Four stations measured more than 100 mm of rainfall, and 10 centres received 50 mm of rainfall. Similarly, 123 stations received light to moderate rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Souirce: The Rising Nepal