Around 80,000 quake-affected families living under temporary shelters in different parts of the country were struggling to shake off cold on Tuesday, as the country woke up to a chilly morning with clouds covering the sky.  The hilly and mountainous regions also witnessed rains and snowfall on the day.

Weathermen have forecast more rain and snowfall on Wednesday in the high mountain regions. 

According to reports from Gorkha district, the epicentre of the April 25 earthquake, hundreds of earthquake-affected families were facing difficulties due to extreme cold conditions with temperatures plummeting to below freezing. 

Rasuwa and Manang too witnessed snowfall on Tuesday.

“Cloudy condition is likely to continue until Wednesday, with chances of rainfall in the Tarai plains and rains accompanied by snowfall in high-altitude areas,” said Shanta Kandel, a meteorologist at the Metrological Forecasting Division. 

Brief to moderate rains on Tuesday and Wednesday will bring dense fog with mist in Tarai districts and Valleys, including Kathmandu, in the next few days, she added. 

Except for a few places in the eastern region, winter has remained dry throughout the country so far. 

The sudden change in weather on Tuesday is likely to bring down the temperatures in many places, but condition is likely to improve from Thursday. Kathmandu on Tuesday recorded minimum temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius.  Rain is expected on Wednesday.

Among the 18 meteorological stations across the 

country, Jumla recorded 

minimum temperature at 

-4.6 degrees Celsius along with 0.3mm rain. 

According to reports from Parsa, cold condition for the past one week has affected the poor and marginalised Musahar and Chamar families, who are living with poor housing conditions. “We have been using rice straw to keep ourselves warm,” said Hira Majhi, a local from Chainpur in the district. 

The weather office has not come up with any alert with the cold wave condition in Tarai districts so far this winter, but some of the places have been witnessing foggy mornings with cloudy weather condition for the past one week. The Nepalgunj-based met office in the Mid-Western Region has recorded light snowfall in high mountainous areas, with a sharp drop in temperatures in lower altitude. On Tuesday, Nepalgunj recorded minimum temperature of 6 degrees Celsius.

A fresh western disturbance that brought moisture from Arabian Sea caused a change in the local weather system, according to the MFD. This is the first time the western disturbance, a weather phenomenon that brings sudden winter rains, has had its effect across the country since the onset of winter this year.