The sudden dust storm that whipped up Kathmandu valley on Monday, clocked at 83 kilometers an hour, was one of the strongest ever recorded in the capital. It would be an understatement to say that it caught people by surprise. When the storm hit, they were seen running for their dear lives, only that they could not run. The winds were so powerful that those running against it were stopped in their tracks and those who ran with it were forced to kneel down. At least six people were injured by falling trees and rocks at various places in the capital. It's a miracle that more were not injured, or even killed. Kathmandu has easily one of the messiest power lines in Asia. Had the electricity pylons given away, the infernal mesh of wires could have entangled many unsuspecting passersby. Thankfully, the recently widened roads allowed people some room to move around. Otherwise, things could have been a lot uglier. But why did the Metrological Forecasting Division, which is supposed to keep track of these weather-related events, fail to give any prior warning to valley denizens?We understand that it's not always possible to predict these weather events, a task which has been made harder because of the effects of global warming. But it would also not be wrong to say that Nepal has one of the most primitive weather forecasting systems in South Asia. This is why forest fires are raging in nearly every part of the country as we write this. This is why sudden floods and landslides kill and maim scores of people every monsoon. This is why victims of last year's earthquakes who are still making do in their makeshift tents were hanging for their dear lives on Monday. In districts like Gorkha, Kavre, Sindhupalchowk—that were at the epicenter of last year's earthquakes—the makeshift tends were blown away by sudden gusts. Hailstorms, also unpredicted, made matters worse. So many people could have been saved from so much trouble and hardship with a better early-warning system. For a country like Nepal that is prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, flash floods and fires, we must find a way to better predict our weather patterns.
This February, the eight SAARC member states had decided to set up 50 automatic weather monitoring stations in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The meeting in New Delhi of environment ministers from SAARC sates had recognized that South Asia is among the most vulnerable regions to effects of climate change and pledged to take appropriate measures to tackle the growing challenges. We hope the commitments made in New Delhi only a month ago have not been forgotten. For it is impossible for individual states to deal with the increasingly complex weather patterns in the region on their own. The best strategy would be to pool their resources and develop complementary capabilities. SAARC member states realize this. Hence while the SAARC center for forests is in Thimpu, the one for coastal zone management is in the Maldives. Likewise, one for disaster management is in New Delhi. There centers must be better resourced to tackle with the growing complexity of weather-related challenges that South Asia faces. At stake is the livelihood of a billion and half people.
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