Pramod Kumar Chaudhari, 21, a college student from Govindapur village of Siraha district, reportedly died of hypothermia resulting from extreme cold in Rajbiraj Thursday night. Two more persons -- Upendra Jha, 50 and Ramesh Thakur, 45 -- had already died of extreme cold the previous night. [break]
Weather experts say it has been almost one week since cold wave started engulfing the Tarai plains of the country, especially south of the Chure range. “Cold wave will not recede soon,” Rajendra Shrestha, a senior meteorologist, says. “It is here to stay all through this winter -- albeit only in some parts of the Tarai occasionally."
What is being referred to as cold wave by the general people, and of course the media, is actually a stagnant blanket of thick smog -- a mixture of smoke and fog -- covering the plains of Nepal, Bangladesh and north India.
The blanket of smog is a result of industrial and agricultural pollution, say weather experts. "Until two decades ago, the smog would not stay for so long in the Tarai," says Shrestha, who has been working at the Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) for the last 25 years now. "It is because there were not as many industries as they are now in this area."
Ngamindra Dahal, a climate specialist, says, "The blanket of smoke is also because of the vast expansion of irrigated land. Obviously, the area of irrigated land has expanded hugely by now in the Tarai and north India. As a result, land remains wet even in winter like in rainy season and takes long to get dried up. It ultimately causes the smog to stay for a very long time."
The smog hovers some 300-400 meters from the ground, especially in the morning, across the Tarai belt, resulting in low visibility and mercury drop. People feel extreme cold as the rays of the sun fail to reach the ground by penetrating the smog blanket.
"The blanket of smog does not vanish by itself. It has to be either swept away by the strong westerly wind or continuous sunny days should make it evaporate," says Dahal. Sadly, the westerly wind, a post-monsoon phenomenon, flows through the Himalayan belt in winter.
"We need to reduce the amount of dust particles emitted by industries. Perhaps, we also need to change our irrigation patterns," says Dahal. "As we can not do it overnight, it is impossible for us to get rid of the smog blanket immediately. The only way to keep us safe from cold wave is to wear warm cloths."
(With inputs from Mithilesh Yadav in Siraha)
Upper Mustang deserted
(DILIP POUDEL)
BAGLUNG: With the rapid fall in temperature, people living in the upper Mustang have left their villages. Chhonhup, Chhoser, Lomanthang, Surkhang, Charang, Chhasang and Ghumi have virtually been deserted.
People living in those villages have descended to the low lying areas. Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) says a temperature of -11 degree Celsius has been recorded in upper Mustang.
"Only a few people have stayed back to look after the houses and cattle," said Shankha Lal Gurung, former VDC chairman of Chhosar. The upper Mustang has an approximate population of 6,000.
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