The division had earlier forecast that the monsoon would enter Nepal by June 10. However, monsoon clouds haven´t shown any sign of moving west of Sikkim so far, meteorologist K B Malla said.
The maximum temperature in Kathmandu rose by 0.6 degree Celsius Tuesday to 32.6 degrees, while the minimum temperature rose by 1 degree Celsius to 19.5 degrees, Malla said.
The country remained dry throughout the day.
Our correspondent from Nepalgunj reports that the mercury there hit 44 degrees Celsius, the highest in the country for Tuesday.
MFD´s Malla said by 3 p.m. Tuesday, maximum recorded temperatures were 33 degrees in Pokhara, 38.6 in Dhangadhi, 39.5 in Bhairahawa, and 38 in Dipayal.
The scorching heat has made life in the Tarai difficult.
Locals are feeling physically sapped as there has been no precipitation in three weeks. There is a rise in cases of diarrhea, fever and headache due to the extreme heat and Bheri Zonal Hospital, which used to see 600-700 patients a day normally, is now seeing around 1,000.
The drought has also hit farmers hard as they struggle to prepare seedbeds for sowing. "We should have sown the seeds by now but have not been able to for lack of rain," said Rampreet Yadav, a farmer in Banke.
The Agricultural Development Office says that only the irrigable 20 percent of the arable 35,000 hectares in Banke district has been sown as of now.
MFD´s Malla said the monsoon is likely to take another seven to 10 days to arrive in Nepal. Temperatures are likely to rise every day until monsoon clouds intercept the sunlight.
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