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With the impacts of the westerly wind, the hilly belts of Sudurpaschim, Karnali, Lumbini and Gandaki Provinces in the country are likely to remain partly to generally cloudy today. The Meteorological Forecast Division of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology stated that rain coupled with thunder is also expected in some parts of the hilly areas in the Sudurpaschim, Karnali, Lumbini and Gandaki provinces. Likewise, storms are likely to occur in some places in Tarai, the Department said. The weather in the other parts of the country would remain clear. The Department has also urged one and all to take precautionary measures to protect themselves from the harms that could cause from storms and lightning.  

The population of snow leopards has reached 90 in Shey Phoksundo National Park, a survey carried out by the government agencies and development partners revealed. The counting of snow leopards was carried out through a systematic camera trap revealing that there are around 90 snow leopards in Shey Phoksundo National Park with a population density of 2.2 snow leopards per 100 sq km. “This is the first time a rigorous and scientific survey has been conducted in Shey Phoksundo National Park. We need to continue our holistic conservation efforts to ensure that the communities and the snow leopards thrive together in the region. Managing a human snow leopard interface should be our priority,” said Dr Ghana Shyam Gurung, the Country Representative of WWF Nepal. This survey was led by the national park with support from conservation partner WWF Nepal under the leadership of the Nepal government. Local community, scientists, young conservationists and other stakeholders also took part in the snow leopard counting. This work has created a platform for estimating the snow leopard population in the country” said Dr Maheshwar Dhakal, Director General, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Snow leopards are a vulnerable, flagship species and are an indicator of healthy mountain ecosystems. They face threats from wildlife crime, retributive killing, and climate change impacts on their habitats. Moreover, they are among the least studied of the big cats of the world. The WWF, Nepal said that emerging figures are a testament to Nepal’s mountain community’s stewardship for snow leopard conservation, as well as decades of investments into the country’s efforts towards research and monitoring, human wildlife conflict management, anti-poaching effort, and habitat management. "Improved security against wildlife crime, livestock insurance and relief schemes, and improved livelihoods of the community are all part of the holistic approach. Efforts continue under the leadership of Nepal to secure the sustainable future of snow leopards globally, to address these and other emerging challenges, the WWF, Nepal said issuing a statement on Thursday.  

Nepal reported 103 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 456 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 72 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 189 people underwent antigen tests, of which 31 tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours and 61 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 397 active cases in the country.

Dozens of people were injured when a clash broke out between police and locals in Mirchiya Municipality of Siraha on Thursday. The locals have been staging demonstrations for the past few days after the municipality demolished their houses. The locals had tried to picket the municipality office this afternoon. The protesters had said that Mayor Shrawan Yadav should answer the issues raised by them. They started pelting stones after Mayor Yadav did not come out of the office. DSP Rabindra Raj Pandey, who is also the spokesperson of the District Police Office, Siraha, said that police fired 27 rounds of bullets into the air to take the situation under control. A few days ago, the municipality demolished 37 houses in the village block land. In which, Mayor Yadav claimed that the municipality had vacated the land owned by the government. The locals, however, said that they had been living in the village block land for generations.