Nepal witnessed a prolonged drought this year since the withdrawal of monsoon in the second week of October.

According to data provided by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, only 14.4 mm of rainfall, which is 24 percent of the season’s average rainfall, occurred in the three months of winter (December 1 to February 28).

“Most districts that witnessed rain during the winter months are from the Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces,” said Bibhuti Pokhrel, spokesperson for the department. “Other places witnessed very little to no rainfall. There has been no rain for around five months, creating drought conditions.”

Generally, the country witnesses 60 mm of rainfall on average during winter. Though rainfall occurred on Friday (the last day of winter) and Saturday in several districts, this is not taken as winter rain, as Friday’s rainfall data came only on Saturday, the first day of the pre-monsoon season.

The department had predicted a hot and dry winter this year. The country thus would witness below-average rainfall and warmer days during the three months of winter (December 1 to February 28). The weather has largely followed these predictions.

This winter, districts in the Tarai region did not witness cold wave conditions as it did in the past and no one died from the cold. Also the people across the country did not feel typical winter chill.

“It takes a couple of days to prepare a detailed report, but most places did not witness rainfall during winter,” said Sudarshan Humagain, an official at the department. “Several districts, including Dhankuta, Bara, Bhairahawa, Kathmandu Valley and others did not witness rainfall.”

Met officials said that a lack of rainfall for a prolonged period has dealt a severe blow to the production of winter crops. Officials at the Department of Agriculture, however, said they are unaware of the impact caused by the prolonged drought in many districts, as they lacked harvest data.

“Local and provincial governments no longer send data on agriculture as they did in the past,” said Tilak Raj Chaulagain, information officer at the department. “Farmers in many places could not sow winter crops in the rainfed areas having no irrigation system. But we do not have impact data.”

Nepal is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis and has witnessed extreme weather events over the past decade and a half.

Evidence indicates that the maximum temperature in Nepal is rising at a faster pace (0.05 degrees Celsius per year) than the minimum temperature (0.03 degrees Celsius per year).

Experts say extreme weather events—excessive rainfall in a short span of time, continuous rainfall for several days in the post-monsoon period, dry spells and droughts, below-average rainfall and above-maximum temperatures in winter—have become more pronounced and frequent in Nepal.

Meanwhile, weather disturbances caused by western low-pressure areas since Friday have subsided across the country. As the pre-monsoon season has started, isolated rainfall could occur due to the local system coupled with western disturbances, Met officials said.