Nepal's landlocked position in South Asia poses many possible and interesting climate change possibilities. Since ocean currents and proximity to the ocean are out of the picture, I will be focusing on altitude, latitude, and wind direction, and geographic position as temperature controls. Nepal's capital Kathmandu lies at the latitude of 27° 43' 0" N and a longitude of 85° 19' 0" E. The warmest month is June and it's average temperature is 74.6°F. Even though it's one of the hottest months June can be a pleasant time to visit versus the winter time. The coldest month in Kathmandu is January with a monthly average temperature of 50.1°F. Based on this information I concluded that the annual range of temperature is 24.5°F. source
One temperature control that impacts Kathmandu is it's geographic position. First, Nepal itself is landlocked, and Kathmandu itself is a valley. This causes cold air to accumulate, and the valley floor is heated during the day. The warm air rises at night causing a wind through the valley cooling the average temperatures. The Kathmandu valley is bowl shaped rising 4,238 ft. above sea level, and the Shivapori, Phulchowki, Nagarjun, and Chandragiri mountain ranges surround it. On the other hand, a temperature control that doesn't affect Kathmandu is ocean currents. Due to it's high elevation and being surrounded by India and China. Although several rivers run through the valley, it's not nearly as large of an effect as ocean currents running along the coast of a country.
Like much of South Asia in general Kathmandu is subject to global warming climate changes in the future. This would imply heat waves, droughts and extreme weather events. source The nearby Himalayan glaciers could potentially melt and flood the Ganges river. However, this is very hypothetical due to recent studies stating that as of present the Himalayan region has remained unchanged, or even grown more. Due to Kathmandu's high altitude and summers full of monsoons, heavy precipitation and flooding are potential extreme events. source
In conclusion, my research on Kathmandu's temperature controls, and potential climate change have opened my eyes to how elevated the capital actually is. In addition, I discovered that Kathmandu is a valley, and is the most popular city for tourists. As a whole, Kathmandu is a very intricate valley with interesting temperature controls as opposed to flat land.
I have enjoyed reading your blog and your choice of pictures. It's quite exciting flying in the clouds in the Himalaya region because, as they say there, "The clouds have rocks in them!"
ReplyDeleteAlthough we are located in two parts of the world that are far away from one another, we share a lot of common temperature controls. I found it fascinating to see the effects of the valley in Kathmandu and the type of weather you experience. it was interesting that your altitude didn't affect the temperature much in your country. My annual temperature range is much more than yours and I have similar temperatures in July but drastically different in the winter months.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading your blog, I noticed that your country and mines quite different. My country is New Zealand and the capital city is Wellington. My average temperature for the warmest month is warmer than your city's warmest month. Also, my average temperature for the coldest month is colder than your city's coldest month, but not by much. The temperature controls for your city are the complete opposite from mine. Your city's temperature is affected by altitude being 4,000 feet above sea level while mines is not being only 400 feet above sea level. Thats a big difference!!
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