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There is now a partial influence of westerly winds and local winds in country's weather 

The weather, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, will be partly cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces and fair in the rest of the provinces. 

In the afternoon, the weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly region while the rest of the country will see partly cloudy to fair weather. 

Light rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces. Also, there are chances of light snowfall at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces. 

Similarly, the weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces tonight. Light snowfall is likely to occur at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces. 

In the next 24 hours, light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces. 

In view of possible light snowfall at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces, the Division has cautioned about partial impact on daily life, agriculture, health, road and aviation sector. 

The country's economic growth rate has been estimated to stand at 5.1 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2081/82 BS (2024/25 AD).  

Making public the forecasts of preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter on Wednesday, the National Statistical Office said that there has been a slight growth in GDP despite improvement in some sectors, including transportation. 

However, the growth rate has not reflected adjustment of weather impacts.  

The office informed that the GDP growth rate after adjusting weather impact in the second quarter was 2.2 percent. 

"Improvement in transportation, construction sector, agriculture, electricity generation and distribution along with increase in total value addition of financial intermediation are the main factors contributing to the positive economic growth in the second quarter", the office said. 

"The growth rate is expected to remain modest, especially due to sluggish progress in education, housing, food and other service sectors during the reporting period", the forecast stated. 

Based on weather impact adjusted data, negative growth is projected in two out of 18 industrial areas. The electricity and gas sector witnessed a negative growth of 4.8 per cent and housing and food sectors saw a negative growth of 2.7 per cent. 

According to the data, transportation and storage activities have the highest growth rate of 14.2 per cent, while mining and quarrying sector is the second highest growing industrial sector with 9.5 per cent growth rate.

Similarly, with the rise in import of construction materials and domestic production, the total value added growth rate of the construction sector is estimated to be 9.1 percent. 

The growth rate of the financial and insurance sector is estimated to be 6.6 percent due to the growth rate of manufacturing industries at 7.4 percent and the increase in deposits and loans. 

According to the preliminary estimate, the growth rate of the trade sector is 6.1 percent and the information and technology sector is 4.9 percent. 

The agriculture sector, which contributes the most to the country's economy, has grown at 3.2 percent. 

"The increase in the production of rice, vegetables, ginger, winter fruits and livestock products has had a positive impact on the total value addition in the sector", it is said. 

As Donald Trump took over the presidency of the US, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding across the world was scrapped. This also impacted Nepal, affecting collaborations with all three tiers of government and various international and national non-governmental organizations (I/NGOs). The halted projects spanned across critical sectors, including fiscal federalism, biodiversity conservation, education, agriculture, health, economic development, human rights, environmental sustainability, and disaster resilience. With the funding cuts, concerns have been raised about the long-term impact on Nepal’s development trajectory, particularly for marginalized communities and sectors heavily reliant on foreign aid.

The total amount of scrapped or significantly affected USAID funds in Nepal amounted to over $319m. Among the affected projects, the USAID Biodiversity (Jal Jangal) initiative, which had a budget of $19m, was one of the most prominent. However, according to Shiva Kumar Wagle, spokesperson for the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE), only this particular project under the ministry was impacted, and the overall impact on the ministry was minimal. Additionally, a $20m allocation for fiscal federalism was also scrapped, affecting governance and decentralization efforts.

Several other key projects lost funding, including the $24.79m KAWAS project aimed at water security and sanitation governance, the $18.91m Trade and Competitiveness initiative, and the $35m Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) program led by CARE Nepal. The USAID Clean Air program, designed to reduce pollution in Kathmandu Valley with a $13m budget, also faced funding cuts. Similarly, the USAID Inclusive Livelihoods project, which sought to empower persons with disabilities, lost its $1m allocation, along with the USAID Agricultural Inputs program, which was set to receive $24.56m.

An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale jolted Humla district and vicinity at 7:44 pm today. 

According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, Lainchaur, the epicenter of the earthquake was at Kalika in the district.

Earlier this evening, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred around Tingri county of China at 6: 27 pm today.