Climate and Rainfall

Weather conditions in Nepal vary from region to region. Summer and late spring temperatures range from about 28 degrees Celsius in the hill region of the country to more than 40 degrees in the Terai. In winter, average maximum and minimum temperatures in the Terai range from a brisk 7 degrees to a mild 23 degrees. The central valleys experience a minimum temperature often falling bellow the freezing point and a chilly 12 degrees maximum. Much colder temperatures prevail at higher elevations. The Kathmandu Valley, at an altitude of 1,310 meters, has a mild climate, ranging from 19 to 27 degrees in the summer, and 2 to 20 degrees in the winter.

The annual rain fall in Kathmandu generally exceeds 1,300 mm. The mean annual rainfall ranges from less than 250 mm. in the north central part of the country, near the Tibetan plateau, to more than 6,000 mm. along the southern slopes of the Annapurna range in central Nepal. Most of the country averages between 1,500 and 2,500 mm. About 80% of the rain falls during the monsoon period, approximately from the end of June to the middle of September.

Climatic Season in Nepal

Nepal has four climatic seasons:
a) Spring: March-May,
b) Summer: June-August,
c) Autumn: September-November, and
d) Winter: December-February.

The average temperature and rainfall records of Kathmandu and other hill stations are presented hereunder:

CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA FOR SELECTED TREKKING TOWNS
TEMPERATURE - MAX/MIN [C]

Twon      Altitude  Jan.  Feb.   Mar.  April  May  June   July  Aug.  Sept. Oct.   Nov.  Dec.  
          in meter                                                                              
Kathmandu     1336  18/2  22/2   25/7  28/9 29/15 29/19  28/19 29/19 28/18 29/13   24/6  21/2 
Trisuli        541  22/7  25/8  30/13 34/17 33/19 33/21  32/20 32/20 31/18 30/15  27/12  23/8 
Langtang      3307 2/-11 3/-10   8/-6 14/-2  17/2  18/7   19/9  18/8  16/7  15/2   9/-8 8/-10 
Pokhara        833  19/6  21/8  26/12 30/15 30/18 29/20  29/21 29/21 28/20 26/17  23/11  20/7 
Lumle         1520  13/5  14/6  19/10 22/13 22/14 23/17  22/17 23/17 21/16 20/14   16/9  13/6 
Marpha        2955 10/-1  12/0   15/3  18/5  19/7 21/11  21/12 21/12 20/11  17/7   14/2  12/0 
Jomsom        2800 12/-3 13/-1   16/2  20/4  23/7 25/12  25/14 25/14 23/11  19/5   15/1 13/-2 
Chame         2680  9/-3  13/1   14/1  20/7  19/6 21/11  21/10 21/10 19/10  17/6   14/1 11/-3 
Jumla         2424 11/-2 13/-3   17/0  22/3  24/6 24/13  23/15 24/15 23/12  24/6  19/-4 15/-5 
Jiri          2003  13/0  15/1   19/4  22/8 22/12 23/16  23/17 23/17 22/15 20/10   17/4  14/1 
Namche Bazaar 3450  7/-8  6/-6   9/-3  12/1  14/4  15/6   16/8  16/8  15/6  12/2    9/3  7/-6 
Tengboche     3867  4/-9  5/-9   9/-6 12/-4 14/-1  14/3   14/5  14/4  13/2 12/-2   8/-7  6/-7 
Taplejung     1732  14/4  15/6   19/9  22/2 23/14 24/17  24/18  24/7 23/16 22/13   18/8  15/5 
Ilam          1300  16/9 18/10  23/14 25/16 25/17 25/18  25/18 25/19 25/17 25/16  21/12  18/8 

CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA FOR SELECTED TREKKING TOWNS

PRECIPITATION IN MM.


   Twon     Altitude  Jan.  Feb.   Mar  April  May  June   July   Aug.  Sept.  Oct.  Nov. Dec.  
             in feet
Kathmandu      4383    18    11    33    54    83   270    383    338   160     62    7     2 
Trisuli        1775    20    23    29    57    90   319    463    474   265    107   14     5 
Langtang      10850                                                                           
Pokhara        2733    26    25    50    87   292   569    809    705   581    224   19     1 
Lumle          4987    28    45    52   194   318   902   1522   1339   932    294   23     2 
Marpha         9695    14    13    27    22    26    44     63     58    45     58    7     2 
Jomsom         9186    20    18    23    15    11    17     41     54    35     37    2     2 
Chame          8793     3    71    72     -    50   106    182     65   145     59    8    24 
Jumla          7953    32    40    43    27    40    70    162    173    92     39    1     4 
Jiri           6572    18    20    47    71   139   381    599    605   337     93   15     3 
Namche Bazaar 11319    26    23    34    26    41   140    243    243   165     78    9    39 
Tengboche     12688    13    24    23    25    29    95    280    265   140     72    9     2 
Taplejung      5683    15    32    55   111   243   335    448    400   271     82   14     4 
Ilam           4265    10     8    18    62   139   321    463    280   215     81    8     2 

Clothing:

Clothing depends on place and time, however, it is recommended to have both light and warm clothing. In the mountain areas or in the Kathmandu Valley warm clothes are generally a must.