Minister mentions wrong rainfall data in article

Bhrikuti Rai / May 20, 2016

                                                                                                                      Courtesy: Rishi Ram Sharma/DHM

On May 8, Forest Minister Agni Sapkota wrote an opinion piece in Naya Patrika titled “Government efforts against forest fires” where he mentions the following points:

• Compared to past years this winter saw only 25 percent of the normal rainfall.
• The temperature increased by 2.4 degrees Celsius

South Asia Check contacted Rishi Ram Sharma, director general of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to check whether the numbers cited by the minister were correct. “According to our latest report which we presented to the President, Nepal received 44.8 percent of the normal rainfall this winter (October 2015-April 2016) and the temperature increased by 2 degrees Celsius.”

Therefore the numbers quoted by Minister Sapkota in his article are incorrect.

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