Westerly winds, local weather systems, and a low-pressure area near eastern Nepal that have been causing rainfall for the past several days will persist until Saturday.

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, most places across the country witnessed rainfall on Thursday.

“Hilly and mountainous areas of the country will remain cloudy and witness light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunder on Friday and Saturday as well,” said Binu Maharjan, a meteorologist at the division. “Some places in the Tarai region will witness light to moderate rainfall, and there is also a chance of windstorms in some areas.”

Met officials said that rainfall, windstorms, thunder and lightning occurring over the past several days are not unusual, as such conditions are typical of the premonsoon season.

At present, there are generally cloudy conditions in Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, as well as in the Himalayan and hilly regions, while the remaining areas are partly cloudy. Officials say the weather will not improve until Saturday.

Rainfall and windstorms occurring almost every day over the past several days have brought relief to people in the Tarai region, where heatwave conditions had developed before the change in the weather system. Air quality in multiple places, including the Kathmandu Valley, had deteriorated to very unhealthy levels, but has improved due to rain and strong winds.

Since the start of the premonsoon season, most parts of the country have witnessed strong winds, thunder, hail and lightning, coupled with moderate rain. The rain has also helped farmers cultivate maize crops in hilly areas. Likewise, forest fire incidents, which usually peak during this season, have been fewer this year due to frequent rainfall.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said it recorded 24 windstorm incidents in 18 districts on Thursday, in which one person died, and five others were injured. At least four people were injured in lightning strikes reported in 12 places across 11 districts. As many as five landslide incidents were recorded, in which one person was injured.

So far, nine people have died and 53 others have been injured in lightning strikes over the past 17 days. The authority has also recorded 271 fire incidents during the same period, in which 8 people died, and 33 others were injured. Likewise, windstorms have killed five people and injured 12 since the start of Baisakh. A total of 17 landslide incidents have been recorded in the same period, in which one person died, and another was injured.

Nepal is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis and has witnessed extreme weather events over the past decade and a half. Weather patterns have become increasingly unusual and destructive in recent years.

Experts say extreme weather events—excessive rainfall over a short period, continuous rain for several days after the monsoon, dry spells, droughts, below-average precipitation, and above-normal winter temperatures—have become more frequent in recent years.