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There is an influence of the low-pressure system in the upper atmosphere of the country at present.

The Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology stated that the weather across the country is likely to remain mainly fair today.

The fog and mist will persist today in parts of the Tarai region.

Likewise, the weather will be mainly fair in the hilly and mountainous areas of the country, according to the Division.

Tonight, mist will continue to occur at a few places in the Tarai region. Furthermore, the weather will remain mainly fair in the hilly and mountain regions of the country.

As the winter season gets colder, the tourist excitement in the religious and touristic district of Mustang has started to decline. As the winter season approaches, hotels in the district headquarters Jomsom and hotels operating on the national highway, including the hotels, are facing downfall.

Recently, as the Beni-Jomsom road has become easier, some tourism entrepreneurs have been waiting for tourists. As the winter season gets colder, the Pokhara-Jomsom air service was also suspended a month in advance. The pressure of tourist vehicles on the national highway road is also very low.

According to RSS, The first snowfall of this season occurred in Upper Mustang last October, while there has been no snowfall in Lower Mustang. However, the extreme cold and the effect of the northern wind have affected people’s lives here. As the winter season begins, the temperature in Upper Mustang has dropped to -20 degrees Celsius in the morning and evening, and in Lower Mustang to -10 degrees Celsius.

Due to the effects of the northerly winds of winter, local residents are unable to move outside easily. Even though the weather is sunny in the afternoon, the cold wind has started blowing along with the northerly winds, which has affected daily life.

As the residents there have locked themselves in their homes and gone down to the valley to escape the cold, Upper Mustang has become completely deserted, said Umesh Poudel, head of the ACAP Lomanthang office to RSS. Although the hotels in Muktinath located here are open, there is no tourist activity.

With the extreme cold of winter, the rivers, branches, taps of houses, irrigation canals and safety tanks of houses in Upper Mustang have frozen and formed ice, affecting the daily lives of the local citizens there. The cold has been affecting the health of the local citizens who have not descended to the valley to escape the winter. In Lower Mustang, local farmers are enduring the extreme cold and are engaged in apple orchard management work.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in January has increased by 5,559 or 54 percent compared to December. According to police sources, it is said that one to one and a half hundred tourists still come to Mustang daily via the Beni-Jomsom road.  According to the tourism records of the District Police Office, when comparing the tourist arrivals from July-December of the last fiscal year, it is seen that the tourist arrivals from the same month of the current fiscal year have decreased by 10.05 percent. 

The electricity has been provided in a remote village in Bigu Rural Municipality-1. The houses of Lapchi residents who have been living in geographical remoteness, harsh weather, and lack of basic amenities have been under the light since Friday night.

Roshan Kumar Singh, head of the Nepal Electricity Authority Dolakha Distribution Center, said that electricity has been lit since Friday night in Lumnang, Bigu Rural Municipality-1, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Nepal Electricity Authority Dolakha Distribution Center. He said that the transformer for electricity has been arranged by Sasa Hydro Power in Lamabagar and other arrangements have been made by the authority.

Lapchi residents descend to Lumnang every year in winter to escape the cold and protect their cattle, and then go to Lapchi when the cold subsides. Pasang Sherpa, chairperson of the Lapchi Gumba, said that cattle rearing is the main source of livelihood for the residents here. There are a total of 48 households in Lumnang, but only 13 households live there.

Due to the lack of access to the road network, locals say that transporting daily necessities including food from in their ward costs a lot. A packet of salt from Lamabagar in their ward costs up to Rs 160, and a sack of rice weighing 30 kg costs up to Rs 6,000, said Wangchuk Sherpa, chairperson of the Lapchi Toll Development Committee. However, when goods are brought from Chupsang in China via the Lapchi-Ramding border, a packet of salt costs only Rs 50 at most, he said.

It takes about an hour and a half to reach Chupsang in China from Lapchi via Ramding. Locals of Lapchi say that if the Chinese government allows them to go to Tasinghang after passing through, they can get goods at even cheaper prices. Therefore, the daily life of the people of Lapchi depends on the Chinese market. Although not all of the 150 Lapchi residents live in Lapchi, their main occupation is cattle herding.

They pay taxes to the Chinese government annually for cattle grazing. The locals, who have been deprived of electricity for years, are happy to have access to the national grid. With the supply of electricity, daily life will become easier and it is expected to have a positive impact on education, health, communication and economic activities. Chairperson Pasang also said that it will now be easier to charge mobile and communication devices and the possibility of operating small businesses will increase. Although the construction work was challenging due to the remote geographical conditions, the Dolakha Distribution Center stated that the project was successfully completed with the cooperation of the locals and the continuous efforts of the authority. 

A new campaign was launched with the aim of ending the unorganized and unsafe operation of city safaris (e-rickshaws) in Biratnagar for years. Under the ‘Safe Driver’ campaign launched by the District Traffic Police Office, Morang, with passenger safety at the center, city safari drivers operating in Biratnagar will now be seen on the roads with trained, certified and clearly identified by the traffic police.

The campaign aims to simultaneously solve the problems of unlicensed drivers, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, overspeeding, indiscriminate parking, unorganized operation and illegal operation of safaris by Indian citizens. The biggest challenge in regulation was the lack of official data on how many city safaris are operating in Biratnagar and how many of them have driving licenses. To remove this confusion, the traffic police has started a systematic registration process for licensed drivers.

For the first time in Nepal, the traffic police has made arrangements to record the details of safari drivers through a computer system. After the registration is completed, each driver is given a separate registration number. Which is clearly visible on the back of a special jacket with the words ‘Safe Driver’ written on it. Passengers do not have to search for the driver’s name, address or safari number. Morang Traffic Police Chief Inspector Santosh Neupane said that arrangements have been made to easily file any complaints, issues or grievances based on the registration number visible on the jacket.

After the registration process is complete, the traffic police will provide special training to the driver. Only after completing the training, the driver will receive a jacket with the words ‘Safe Driver’ written on it. According to Inspector Neupane, this jacket is not only the driver’s attire but also a symbol of responsibility and discipline. He says that ‘Safe Drivers’ trained and certified by the traffic police are considered at least 80 percent safer than other ordinary drivers.