“The traces of rain witnessed by the capital on Friday afternoon was due to a minor local system that developed in the Valley,” says Suman Regmi, a meteorologist with the Meteorological Forecasting Division.
According to Regmi, monsoon should be here anytime next week.
“Yes the monsoon has been late this year, but now we are observing symptoms signaling its arrival,” says Regmi.
The main factor not allowing the monsoon to arrive in the Himalayan region is the strong presence of the westerly. Since the monsoon is carried by easterly it cannot arrive until the westerly weakens. But according to Regmi, the westerly is showing signs of weakening.
The stalled monsoon has caused the temperatures of the region to soar considerably. The highest temperature recorded this month in Kathmandu was on Wednesday (33.6 degrees) while the maximum temperature on Friday was 32.
After a dry winter, many proclaim that the late monsoon is a signal of climate change but Regmi says that the monsoon has been late on previous occasions as well.
“The monsoon was late by 12 days in 1966 and 9 days in 1974, so this year is not an exception,” says Regmi.
The accepted date for monsoon to hit the Himalayas is June 10 but it still hasn´t arrived extending the time of the hot pre-monsoon period.
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