In an unprecedented event, the water level of the Bishnumati River and its tributaries surpassed the danger mark on Sunday evening, a rare occurrence in the past several years. Tragically, a 13-year-old boy was swept away in the Samakhusi area, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The torrential floodwaters breached embankments, inundating roads, roadside shops, and settlements.
Local residents in the Balaju area expressed their fear and astonishment at the unusually intense rainfall that occurred within a short span of time.
However, the recorded rainfall data from the Meteorological Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology paints a different picture, indicating that Kathmandu witnessed only 2.7 millimeters of rainfall in the preceding 24 hours on Sunday. Additionally, the Budhanilkantha weather station registered 38.8 mm rainfall when questioned about the flash floods and inundation in the Bishnumati River and Balaju areas.
Meteorologist Rojan Lamichhane clarified that there is no weather station in the Balaju area, which poses challenges in accurately measuring the rainfall that occurred there. This limitation in weather station coverage is a recurring issue and hampers data collection, as experienced during the recent flash floods in the Bishnumati river and the disaster in Melamchi in June 2021.
Climate experts stress the need to expand the weather station network, upgrade technologies, and maintain comprehensive weather data. Authentic and reliable data plays a crucial role in understanding weather patterns, enabling authorities to take proactive measures and policymakers to formulate development policies effectively.
The existing river embankments were not adequately constructed to withstand the pressure of swollen rivers, while drainage and sewage systems often fail to cope with the volume of water discharged during heavy rainfall. Experts advocate for a holistic approach, urging concerned authorities to consider changing weather patterns while undertaking infrastructure development, including embankments, roads, drainage, and sewage systems.
Nepal faces immense vulnerability to the climate crisis, experiencing extreme weather events over the past decade and beyond. These events include excessive rainfall within short periods, continuous rains lasting several days in the post-monsoon period, dry spells, droughts, below-average precipitation, and above-normal temperatures during winter. As such events become more frequent, addressing climate vulnerabilities becomes an urgent imperative for the country’s sustainable development.