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Kathmandu Saturday June 24, 2000 Ahsad 10, 2057.
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Make weather forecast referable
The broadened awareness created by international weather
forecast coverage, particularly through television channels, has generated a need for the
meteorological establishment to come out of the five-decade old framework of weather
forecast in Nepal as well, which till now, offers a mere sketchy and scanty statements.
The adopted procedure is to demonstrate importance to Kathmandu and some of the recorded
centres; and the coverage is mere ritualistic statement of diminishing values. Say for
example, possibility of thunderstorm or rain in some part of eastern or western Nepal.
The information package on weather has long been identified
to be vital for land productivity, trade, transport and in various economic and productive
undertakings. Documents even testify serious impacts of irregular monsoons on the
surplus/deficit balances of foodgrain raised. People of all walks of life looking for
weather information are not only located at the regional headquarters. They need it in all
the major belts having media coverage for planning and regulating their growth-oriented
activities.
All these do suggest that the revised framework of weather
report needs to encompass the Asian continent with extensively referable horizon of the
oceans and the major bays. Important centres of the Tibetan Plateau and Indo-Gangetic
frontiers are relevant context; and within Nepal three representative centres in each
North-South ecological cross-section are to be provided with meteorological particulars on
day to day basis. For example, Jomsom/Mustang, Pokhara, Butwal/Bhairahawa, Rasua/Kodari,
Kathmandu, Birgunj/Amlekhgunj etc. If such an upgraded pattern of presentation is not
workable in view of organisational/technical constraint, relevant part of BBC/CNN coverage
may be copied for transmission. On the contrary, if there is no will at all to broaden the
vision and set dynamism towards meeting the enlarged needs of the day, at least the
transmission of outdated forecast pattern may be stopped to honour the value of time and
avoid unnecessary cost involved in compilation and processing of valueless statements.
Chiranjeevi Vaidya,
Maharajgunj, Chakrapath, Kathmandu |
