Autumn in Nepal
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CLIMATE:
Nepal's climate, influenced by elevation as well as by its location in a subtropical latitude,
ranges from subtropical monsoon conditions in the Tarai, through a warm temperate
climate between 4,000 and 7,000 feet in the mid-mountain region, to cool temperate
conditions in the higher parts of mountains between 7,000 and 11,000 feet, to an Alpine
climate at altitudes between 14,000 and 16,000 feet along the lower slopes of the
Himalaya mountains. At altitudes above 16,000 feet the temperature is always below
freezing and the surface covered by snow and ice.
Rainfall is ample in the eastern portion of the Tarai (which receives from 70 to 75 inches [1,800 to 1,900
millimetres] a year at Biratnagar) and in the mountains, but the western portion of Nepal (where from 30 to 35
inches a year fall at Mahendranagar) is drier. Because warm rain-bearing monsoon winds discharge most of their
moisture as they encounter the Annapurna range, rainfall is quite heavy (about 100 inches) in the Pokhara Valley.
The average annual rainfall is about 55 inches, most of which falls in the period from June to September.
In Kathmandu Valley, average temperatures range from 50 F (10 C) in January to 78 F (26 C) in July, and the
lowest and highest temperatures recorded have been 27 and 99 F (-3 and 37 C). At Pokhara the temperature
ranges from 40 F (4 C) in January to approximately 100 F (38 C) in June, just before the monsoon. In winter,
temperatures during the day rise to 70 F (21 C), creating pleasant conditions, with cool nights and warm days.
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