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Winter losing its chill? Global warming to be blamed
KATHMANDU, NOV 21 - For the elderly who think that winters are becoming progressively warmer, well, it’s no surprise - say meteorologists. According to climate experts, the temperature during the recent winters in Kathmandu is becoming slightly warmer than just a decade ago.Mandira Rajbahak, Senior Divisional Meteorologist in the Climate Section of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, said that this past October had become slightly warmer than in previous years.
The minimum average recorded temperature in Kathmandu during the 70s was minus 1.9 degrees Celsius and during the 90s it was minus 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Although the differences in temperature may not be significant, the elderly of Kathmandu clearly feel that the coldness during their days is ‘no’ measure to what the temperature is now."The children of today don’t know the meaning of cold," said 71-years-old Ram Adhikary of Binayak Galli in Anam Nagar. "During our days, a thick fog would surround Kathmandu and one could not even see his own feet," he added.Adhikary said that dewdrops on the leaves would freeze in the winter with a light layer of ice on top of them.
Similarly, Dr Bhoj Raj Shrestha, 80, of Ram Prasad Marg in Gaushala also agreed with Adhikary. "If you put a bowl of water outside throughout the night, it would turn into ice," he reminisced. "Nowadays, it hardly happens," he added.
Meteorologist Rajbahak also notes that for the past 10 years, the month of December has not experienced temperatures below minus degrees. However, in the Terai regions, she said that last January recorded the coldest temperature in 30 years. For nearly a month, the Terai lowlands experienced a thick fog, which resulted in many deaths. The hilly regions though did not experience extreme temperatures.
Rajbahak cites global warming and increasing pollution levels as the reason for the changes in temperature. Similarly, scientists say that increasing concentration of greenhouse gases is likely to accelerate the rate of climate changes.
The coldest recorded temperature in Kathmandu was –3.5 degrees Celsius on January 11, 1978. Although below-zero temperatures have been recorded in the coldest months of January, it has not been as frequent as previously recorded, say experts.Rajbahak said that the weather in Kathmandu barely reaches below –1 or –2 degrees Celsius these days.But Rajbahak cautions that it is hard to predict what this year’s winter holds. "We still don’t have facilities for long-term forecasting; so we can’t predict future weather patterns," she said.She added that weather similar to that of last year in the Terai would be experienced in case of active weather disturbances and rainfall.
According to the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, the Earth’s surface temperature has risen by about 0.6 degree Celsius in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades.Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise from 0.6 to 2.5 degrees Celsius in the next 50 years.Posted on: 2003-11-20 09:53
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