Impact of Cold Wave on Vulnerable People of Tarai Region, Nepal

Abstract

Climate extremity phenomena are increasing with the global climate change. Cold wave is one of these climate extremities affecting the health of people, especially vulnerable groups. Nepal is also experiencing the impacts of global warming on its temperature patterns. The climate data of more than four decades have shown an increasing trend of annual temperatures across Nepal. However, the change in temperatures is found varying greatly among its three broad physiographic regions: Tarai, hill, and mountains, as well as among four distinct seasons: winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon during a year. Further, since the last two decades Nepal has experienced climatic extremities such as heat wave, cold wave, precipitation concentration, prolonged dryness affecting livelihood of the people and demographic features like mortality, morbidity, etc. This study intends to deal with the impact of cold extremity on the death of vulnerable people such as children and elderly in the Tarai region. It draws on meteorological data for four decades since 1974. The magnitude of mortality rate of those vulnerable people is analyzed from 1974 to 2013, and prediction of mortality rate is made with respect to decrease in temperature or intensity of cold wave.

Socio-Economic Impact of and Adaptation to Extreme Heat and Cold of Farmers in the Food Bowl of Nepal

“…Similarly, farmers managed various cooling techniques such as bathing in cold water, wearing wet clothes, and drinking a lot of cold water to avoid dehydration from heat exposure, as also found by Pradhan, Sharma and Pradhan [54]. Stopping work and rescheduling work shifts are the two heat response measures found to significantly differ across the three perceived heat stress levels, low, medium, and high.…”

“…Heat waves can cause reductions in crop productivity [59], and the death of livestock and people. From 1974 to 2013, 45 heat-wave-related deaths were reported, solely in the Terai region [54].…”

“…During 1970–2013, economic loss from cold spells was US $835 million, 269,000 Ha of crop land were damaged and 732 cattle were lost due to cold spells [52]. The effect of cold spells has been found to be higher in the low lying Terai region than in the mountain regions, where there is cold in most of the time, but it is not so significant because the population is both sparse and more adapted to the cold climate [54]. On the other hand, the impact of cold is severe in Terai, where the largest share of the population resides, most of them living below the poverty line [54].…”

“…The effect of cold spells has been found to be higher in the low lying Terai region than in the mountain regions, where there is cold in most of the time, but it is not so significant because the population is both sparse and more adapted to the cold climate [54]. On the other hand, the impact of cold is severe in Terai, where the largest share of the population resides, most of them living below the poverty line [54]. Pradhan, Sharma and Pradhan [54] further reported that cold-wave-related deaths increased at the rate of 13% per annum during 1970–2013.…”

“…On the other hand, the impact of cold is severe in Terai, where the largest share of the population resides, most of them living below the poverty line [54]. Pradhan, Sharma and Pradhan [54] further reported that cold-wave-related deaths increased at the rate of 13% per annum during 1970–2013. So far, there has been only one study from Nepal [55] on how working people in the Terai region respond to heat waves.…”