An emergency cabinet meeting held on Wednesday declared Madhes province a disaster crisis zone, following an unprecedented drought that has gripped the nation's agricultural heartland. The unusual lack of rainfall during mid-monsoon in the southern plains has pushed the region into crisis.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli informed parliament that the cabinet had taken the decision in response to the worsening situation in the Terai region. “A cabinet meeting today declared Madhesh Province a disaster crisis zone. This means funds designated for disaster response can now be mobilized urgently,” Oli said.
The decision was made based on a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The drought has affected all eight districts along Nepal’s fertile Terai belt. “The groundwater level is receding. Hand-pumps and wells have dried up. There is an acute shortage of drinking water—even water for cleaning is unavailable. In light of this situation, the government has held high-level discussions and deployed teams to address the crisis,” Oli added.
The declaration was made under Section 32, Subsection 1 of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act 2017, which authorizes the government to designate any area as a disaster-threatened zone via a notice in the Nepal Gazette.
A prolonged dry spell during the peak monsoon season has brought much of the Tarai region to the brink of an agricultural disaster. Farmers have been unable to transplant paddy due to severe water shortages. Seedbeds have dried up, and paddy saplings are withering, raising fears of an impending food crisis in Nepal’s primary rice-producing zone.
A few days prior, the Madhes provincial government had also declared the province a drought-hit zone. Though fire trucks and water tankers were mobilized to distribute drinking water, these efforts fell short of addressing the region’s irrigation needs. The lack of water during the crucial monsoon period poses a major threat not only to farmers’ livelihoods but also to the national economy.
Madhes Province, known as the breadbasket of Nepal, still depends heavily on rainwater for farming. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank’s 2024 report on the Economic Status of Madhes Province, any rise in the province’s GDP would be driven by agricultural growth. The report projected Madhes’s GDP at Rs 707bn, accounting for 13.13 percent of the national GDP (Rs 5.381trn). Agriculture alone contributes 35.2 percent of the province’s GDP, with major outputs including food grains, vegetables, fruits, and spices.
But this year’s dry and arid monsoon has heightened worries among farmers, who now fear for their future. Meanwhile, across Nepal, monsoon-related disasters have already claimed nearly two dozen lives due to landslides and floods. Several others remain injured or missing. Infrastructure and properties worth billions of rupees have been destroyed.
In the mountainous regions, erratic rainfall patterns mean even short bursts of rain trigger flash floods. Glacial and supraglacial lakes, swollen due to rising temperatures and melting ice, pose constant threats. In one such incident, a previously unnoticed supraglacial lake in Tibet above Rasuwagadhi burst, triggering floods in Bhotekoshi that killed at least 11 people, with 17 still missing.
Studies show Nepal is experiencing changes in temperature and precipitation at a rate faster than the global average. The country’s maximum temperature is rising by 0.05°C per year, while the minimum temperature increases by 0.03°C annually.
Ironically, the current drought in Madhes comes despite predictions of above-normal rainfall this monsoon. Nepal annually suffers monsoon-related disasters like floods, landslides, and inundation, causing extensive loss of life and property. Last year, continuous rainfall over just three days resulted in around 200 deaths and massive damage across the country.
As Nepal braces for heavier-than-average rains this year, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has projected that nearly 2m people from over 457,000 households could be affected by monsoon-related disasters. According to NDRRMA projections, Lumbini Province is expected to be the worst-hit, with 523,656 people from 119,830 households at risk.
This is followed by Bagmati, where 327,376 people from 74,914 households are projected to be affected. In Gandaki, 287,107 people from 65,699 households could face monsoon-related disasters. Koshi is expected to see 275,867 people from 63,127 households impacted, while in Madhes, 228,687 people from 52,331 households are at risk. Similarly, Sudurpaschim may see 227,730 people from 52,112 households affected, and Karnali is projected to have 127,308 people from 29,132 households at risk.
