Kathmandu, September 30

The Meteorological Forecasting Division has formally announced the end of this year’s monsoon in Nepal.

“Monsoon has withdrawn from the western and central regions of Nepal as of yesterday. It would withdraw from the rest of the country within a few days,” it announced. Monsoon usually starts from June 10 and lasts till September 23. It remains effective for around 105 days in Nepal.

A weak surge of monsoon had entered the eastern parts of Nepal three days later than the normal date this year and took additional six days for withdrawal which officials say is not unusual.

Nepal receives an average of 80 per cent of annual rainfall during monsoon, which originates in the Bay of Bengal and moves along the southern flanks of the Himalayas, bringing rains to Nepal. The average annual rainfall in Nepal is 1,600 mm, but it varies from place to place depending on the climatic conditions.

According to MFD statistics, the Kathmandu Valley recorded 1188.1 mm of rainfall between June and September this year compared to 1,229 mm last year and 1,320.3 mm in 2013. The South Asian Climate Outlook Forum had recently issued its seasonal outlook, predicting below-normal rainfall over large tracts of South Asia, including Nepal, even during this year’s summer monsoon largely because of the weak El Nino effect.

The country had experienced the longest monsoon in six decades in 2013, lasting 127 days from the date of its start on June 14.