Officials from the Hydrology and Meteorology Office have said that the effects of the cold wave will continue in the western Terai region, including Kailali and Kanchanpur in the far west.

The Western Terai region has been gripped by a cold wave since the first week of Poush. Along with the extreme cold, the cold wave has made life difficult here, and winter vegetables and mustard crops have also been affected.

‘Although there is some sunshine in the afternoon, the effect of the cold wave is likely to last until Magh,’ said Engineer Sanjay Shah, Chief of the Hydrology and Meteorology Office in Attariya, Kailali. ‘The effect of the cold wave is getting longer due to the lack of winter rain.’ According to him, the possibility of a cold wave extending in the Western Terai and other Terai regions of the country has increased due to the lack of winter rain due to the lack of western winds.

Engineer Shah says that the effect of the cold wave is expected to last until Magh as the winter rain has not occurred even after the third week of Poush. ‘The lack of rain at this time is the main reason for the increase in the cold wave effect,’ he said. ‘The current situation is that fog covers the entire morning and evening, making it impossible to see even the road for five kilometers. Frost is falling on the edges.’

Chief Shah informed that the minimum temperature in Kailali and Kanchanpur has also decreased and has been around 6 to 12 degrees Celsius since the beginning of the month of Poush. He says that if the sky becomes clear after a few showers, the effect of the cold wave will also decrease. It rains only when the westerly wind enters the Terai during the winter season. Along with the Terai region, there has been no winter rain in the hilly areas of the Far West.’

‘This can also be considered an effect of climate change, if there is snow in the high mountains and rain in the Terai in winter, winter crops also suffer, as the cold and cold wave increase, vegetable production decreases,’ said Engineer Shah.

Mustard crop and winter vegetables will be affected by cold wave

At present, the mustard cultivation in Kailali and Kanchanpur has become a wasteland. But the cold and cold wave that has been going on for a month has started affecting the winter vegetable crop along with mustard. Among vegetables, potatoes are the most at risk of developing frost blight due to heavy frost.

‘At present, the main crop in the Terai region is mustard,’ said Ram Narayan Chaudhary, agricultural extension officer of the Agricultural Knowledge Center Kailali. ‘Along with mustard, potatoes, tomatoes, chillies and other vegetables have started to be affected by the long-term cold and cold wave.’ According to him, there is a risk of mustard plants falling due to heavy frost and mold on the fallen mustard. He also said that it is difficult to protect winter vegetable crops including potatoes from the extreme cold of the season.

According to agricultural officer Chaudhary, excessive water and frost have caused more damage to banana cultivation. ‘Banana plants cannot tolerate frost,’ he said. ‘In recent years, banana cultivation has been going on in large quantities in Kailali and Kanchanpur, and it is seen that the adverse weather of the season will also damage banana cultivation.’