By Our Reporter
The impact of climate change was noticed across Nepal this year. The long drought, excessive heat and the acute shortage of water both in the hills and the Tarai were experienced this year.
While the maximum temperature surged in Dhangadhi and Nepalgunj in western Tarai, Kathmandu also experienced two hottest days in May this year. On May 25 and 30 the maximum temperature of Kathmandu reached 34.4 degrees Celsius, the third highest in history. Kathmandu’s highest temperature reached 36.6 degrees Celsius On May 7 1989 and 34.6 degrees Celsius on July 28, 2015. On May 30, the maximum temperatures crossed 40 degrees Celsius in most of the Tarai towns. Although only two deaths were reported from heat waves in Nepal, nearly 400 people died in India because of the excessive heat.
While the people experienced extreme heat, they also faced an acute shortage of drinking water. In some Tarai towns, the local levels had to supply water to the people through firefighting machines.
It is said that the excessive exploitation of the Chure region resulted in the water shortage in the Tarai. When the government and corrupt local leaders started selling boulders and other construction materials from the Chure, it turned barren resulting in the drying up of the water sources. Although there is the President Chure Preservation Programme to save the Chure region, no concrete work has been done to protect it from excessive exploitation.
Now when the people in the southern plain face water shortage, they have started raising their voices to preserve the Chure.
Nepal, being a mountainous country, will surely suffer more from the effects of climate change. As such, the government needs to take the issue seriously and adopt preventive measures before it becomes too late.
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