The Climate of Nepal
Nepal is a small, mountainous country lying on the southern side of the Himalayan mountains between Tibet to the north and India to the south.
It includes within, or along its northern border, some of the highest mountains in the world; everest rises to 29 028ft (8848m).
The country is only between 160 and 240km long from north to south and in this distance the altitude decreases from the high Himalayan peaks to the lowlands of the Terai in the plain region of northern India. There is thus in Nepal a range of climatic conditions from tropical forest or jungle to the permanent snowfields and glaciers of the Himalayas.
The weather and climate, like those of India, are controlled by the seasonal alternation of the monsoon winds. The main rainy season in Nepal is from late June to September.
This is a period of warm to hot temperatures, much cloud and frequent heavy rain. At this time sunshine averages only two to three hours a day. During the rest of the year, the weather is more settled and pleasant. The days are mild or even warm, except on the high mountains, and sunshine averages from 6 to 9 hours a day.
The table for Kathmandu illustrates conditions in the valleys and in the Himalayan foothill regions where the majority of the population live. Rainfall in Nepal decreases from east to west so that the tables for Darjeeling and Simla in India are more representative of the east and west of the country respectively. They also indicate better than the table for Kathmandu the likely temprature conditions in the more highly populated regions of Nepal.
Apart from some danger of flooding during the heaviest rains, the climate of Nepal is rarely hazardous and for much of the year is very pleasant.
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Kathmandu
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| Month |
Rainfall(mm) |
Temperature (Celsius) |
| Ave. Monthly |
Ave. No. of Days with 1mm |
Average Daily |
Lowest Recorded |
Highest Recorded |
| Min |
Max |
| Jan |
15 |
1 |
2 |
18 |
-2 |
25 |
| Feb |
41 |
5 |
4 |
19 |
-1 |
25 |
| Mar |
23 |
2 |
7 |
25 |
2 |
33 |
| Apr |
58 |
6 |
12 |
28 |
4 |
35 |
| May |
122 |
10 |
16 |
30 |
10 |
36 |
| Jun |
246 |
15 |
19 |
29 |
14 |
36 |
| Jul |
373 |
21 |
20 |
29 |
18 |
33 |
| Aug |
345 |
20 |
20 |
28 |
17 |
33 |
| Sep |
155 |
12 |
19 |
28 |
13 |
33 |
| Oct |
38 |
4 |
13 |
27 |
6 |
33 |
| Nov |
8 |
1 |
7 |
23 |
-1 |
28 |
| Dec |
3 |
0.2 |
3 |
19 |
-2 |
24 |
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