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Nepal logged eight new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 693 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which six returned positive. Likewise, 1, 309 people underwent antigen tests, of which two were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 17 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 190 active cases in the country.

China's sea levels reached their highest on record last year, swelled by rising water temperatures and the melting of glaciers and polar icecaps, the government said in a report, Reuters reported.

Coastal sea levels were 84 mm (3.3 inches) higher in 2021 than the average over the period from 1993 to 2011, the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center said in an annual bulletin.

Saturday's report warned that rising sea levels brought by climate change were having a "continuous impact" on the development of coastal regions, and urged authorities to improve monitoring and bolster early warning and prevention efforts.

The long-term effects of such rise include erosion of coastal ecoystems and the loss of tidal flats, while coastal cities face greater risks of floods and salt tides, said the centre, a research unit of the national resources ministry, according to Reuters.

Coastal sea levels around China have now risen by an average of 3.4 millimetres (0.13 inch) a year since 1980, higher than the global rate over the period.

Although the temperatures of China's coastal waters fell slightly in 2021 from the previous year, they were still the third highest on record and 0.84 degrees Celsius above the 1993-2011 average.

Last year, the environment ministry forecast a rise of another 55 mm to 170 mm (2 inches to 7 inches) in coastal water levels during the next 30 years, which would require a greater effort by China to protect its coastline.

Its east coast cities have begun making contingency plans against rising sea levels, with the commercial hub of Shanghai looking into building new drainage tunnels and tidal gates, Reuters reported.

An Indian climber died during a summit push on Mount Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain, a hiking official said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The death is the third to be reported on Nepal Himalayas during the current climbing season which started in March.

Narayanan Iyer, 52, died around 8,200 metres (26,900 feet, above sea level while trying to reach the 8,586 metre (28,169 feet) peak on Thursday, said Nivesh Karki, an official of the hiking company that organised the expedition.

"Iyer's guide advised him to turn back after he was feeling unwell but he refused," Karki said while confirming the death.

Last month a Greek climber and a Nepali Sherpa guide died on other peaks.

Mountain climbing is the main tourism activity and a key source of income as well as employment in Nepal, which has eight of the world's 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, according to Reuters.

More than 900 foreign mountaineers have received permits to climb 26 Himalayan peaks in Nepal, including Mount Everest, during the current season ending in May.

Four temporary police personnel recruited for the security of the local level elections have died in various parts of the country.

According to Nepal Police spokesperson Bishnu Kumar KC, one each died in Lalitpur, Humla, Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot.

Durgesh Basnet died after falling off a cliff at Pipaldanda in Chautara Sangachokgadhi-6 of Sindhupalchok and Yogendra Neupane deployed in Nuwakot lost his life in an accident.

Similarly, Jas Bahadur Roka of Sarkegad Rural Municipality was found dead while asleep and Anita Bhattarai of Sindhupalchok committed suicide by consuming poison.

Earlier, the government had decided to provide Rs 2 million for the families of the security personnel including myadi police (temporary police) deployed for the May 13 local level elections.

However, this decision does not apply to the suicidal case. 

Meanwhile, out of 100, 000 temporary police personnel deployed for the security of the local polls, 48 have been relieved of their responsibilities for not abiding by the law.