Nepal, a country of beautiful snowcapped mountains, lakes, rivers, water sources, forest and is popular tourism destination for its nature, scenery and ecology. Despite its relatively small area, Nepal has very diverse climatic conditions, ranging from tropical in the south to alpine in the north. Nepal contributes only 0.027% of the total green house gases globally, Nepal has been highly vulnerable to the climate related disasters due to its climate and geography. Nepal’s changing climate impacts the country’s main ecosystems (forests, grasslands, rangelands, wetlands, mountains and agro-ecosystems).

Temperature and Precipitation

We have been experiencing high temperature than last decades with high temperature making new records each year. There is projection of rise of 1.6 to 2.2-degree Celsius temperature by 2050.

The precipitation pattern has changed in Nepal with erratic rainfall pattern with heavy rainfall and long drought period. With heavy rainfall during the rainfall we are experiencing more disasters like flood and landslides. climate change is responsible for a drastic, yet often erratic, changes in seasonal water availability, resulting in drought conditions during the dry season and increased flooding during monsoon. The climate prediction suggests 3.9 to 5. 1 % increase in annual precipitation along with increase in consecutive dry days. There can be increase of 35-52% increase in extreme rainfall events by 2050.  

Agriculture:

Increased variability in weather, extreme condition changing crop weed competition dynamics, increase in pests and diseases, decreased biodiversity owing to temperature and climate change affect agricultural productivity resulting in food insecurity. Nepal is an agrarian nation with Agriculture GDP contributing almost 27% to total GDP and 60% people being involved in the agriculture. Highly diverse nature of agriculture, high rainfall dependency, inadequate infrastructure facilities for supply of quality input, rapid degradation of soil and loss of fertility and nutrient level, and poor resources base of the farmers has made agriculture highly vulnerable to climate change. Nepal’s agriculture is facing risks due to changes erratic monsoon rainfall and flooding. About 64% of cultivated areas are fully dependent on monsoon rainfall. Decline in rainfall from November to April adversely affects the winter and spacing crops. Rice yields are sensitive to climatic conditions. IPCC 4th Assessment Report estimates that crop yield in South Asia can decrease by up to 30% by 2050.

Climate Induced Disasters

Climate induced disaster and their further consequences can be as the indirect effect of climate and besides direct impacts of direct of climate change there are many other indirect impacts of climate change that might affect Nepal and its people severely. Nepal has been experiencing the increased number of climate related disasters like flood, landslides, glacier outburst and forest fire.

Flood: Floods in Nepal are particularly associated with summer monsoon rains, and are a feature of

current climate variability. The country's more than 6,000 rivers and rivulets, with a total of 45,000 km in length. In most cases, climate change is projected to increase the intensity and frequency of high flows, and increase flood risks in Nepal.

Landslides: It is another climate induced hazard which are often related to extreme rainfall or flood

events. Landslides also have significant impacts on communities and infrastructure. Nepal is a country of uneven terrain and people of hills and mountainous region are consider to be vulnerable to landslides.

Drought: Due to climate change some part of the country might get excessive amount of rain while

other part might suffer from drought. Increasing temperature might trigger drought event.

Forest fire: An increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, if coupled with extended forest cover, will greatly increase the risk of forest fires.

Glacial Outburst: Nepal’s Himalaya, total estimated ice reserve between 1977 and 2010 decreased by 29%. 20% of loss of snow and glaciated area with 1°C increase in temperature increasing glacial lake outburst and flooding. With increasing temperature and melting of snow, many glacial lakes of Nepal pose threat in Nepal.

Climate Change Policies in Nepal

Government of Nepal has implemented policies related to climate change to reduce its impact and help in adaptation and mitigation process of climate change. The climate policies of Nepal are:

Climate Change Council, 2009, chaired by the Prime Minister

Climate Change Management Division, 2010, Ministry of Environment

National Adaptation Programme of Action, 2010

Climate Change Policy, 2011

Climate Resilient Planning Tool , 2011: National Planning Commission

Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA), November 2011

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, 2016

References:

Dixit, A. Climate Change in Nepal: Impacts and Adaptive Strategies. World Resource Institute Retrieved From: https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/world-resources-report/climate-change-nepal-impacts-and-adaptive-strategies

Naharki, K. 2017. CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON NEPALESE AGRICULTURE. Kushal’s Thought. Retrieved from: https://kushalnaharki.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/climate-change-and-its-impact-on-nepalese-agriculture/

Sapkota, R. 2017. CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS IN NEPAL. Institute of Science and Technology Tribhuvan University

USAID. 2017. CLIMATE RISK PROFILE. Nepal. Retrieved from:

https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/2017_USAID%20CCIS_Climate%20Risk%20Profile_Nepal.pdf