Heavy Snowfall Blankets Upper Mustang and Muktinath Regions

Mustang. Heavy snowfall has occurred in the Upper Mustang and Muktinath regions. It has been reported that heavy snowfall has been ongoing in these areas since Saturday night. As the winter season continues, the upper regions of the district and the Muktinath area have experienced significant snowfall. Previously, the first snowfall of the season occurred on Kartik 10. It is reported that this is the sixth snowfall of the current season.

Umesh Paudel, head of the ACAP Lomanthang office, informed that heavy snowfall has been occurring in the settlements and high pastures of the Upper Mustang region since Saturday night. From Syangboche in Waragung Muktichhetra-3 to the Korala border, the hills and mountains have turned completely white. According to him, up to one foot of snow has accumulated in the settlement areas of Upper Mustang.

This is the sixth instance of heavy snowfall in places including Ghiling, Ghami, Charang, Lomanthang, Thingar, Chhoser, Samjung, Namasung, Bharsa, Yara, Ghara, Dhi, and Surkhang above Syangboche. Uday Timilsina, an employee of Lomanthang Rural Municipality, informed that local life has been affected by the snowfall. "The snowfall that started on Saturday night has not stopped yet; it is continuing. If the snowfall persists until the evening, there is a possibility of more than two feet of snow accumulation," he said.

Due to the sixth snowfall of the season, the high-altitude grazing lands in Upper Mustang are completely covered in snow. With the snowfall, temperatures in Upper Mustang are dropping, causing hardship for local residents and livestock farmers.

Upper Mustang produces one crop annually. It is customary for residents to return to their villages after escaping the winter cold to plant summer crops. It is said that the snowfall during the start of the summer planting season will benefit the farmers.

Similarly, snowfall occurred in the Waragung Muktichhetra region on Saturday night. Kaisang Thokya Thakuri, a local of Muktinath, informed that heavy snowfall occurred in places including Khinga, Jharkot, Pudak, Chengur, and Muktinath in Waragung Muktichhetra-1. He mentioned that while the snowfall caused some minor difficulties for Muktinath pilgrims, the beauty of the snow has added excitement for tourists.

Meanwhile, while heavy snow fell in the Upper Mustang and Muktinath regions, heavy rain occurred in the lower areas from Jomsom in Mustang. According to Roshan Thakali, Agriculture Branch Officer of Gharapjhong, the heavy rain during the apple flowering season has affected apple farming. "Apple trees have started to bloom, and this is also the time for pollination. Such snowfall and rain at this time are not good for farmers," said Officer Thakali.

Experts say that the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt directly and indirectly in the Himalayan districts. Previously, it had not snowed in Mustang for three consecutive years. The fact that it has snowed six times this season is being analyzed as an effect of climate change. Due to climate change, uneven snowfall patterns are emerging in the Himalayan region, leading to natural effects such as heavy snowfall in some years, partial snowfall in others, and no snow at all in some years.