Climate change is troubling Karnali, but locals are learning coping strategies too. Here’s a case

The onset of monsoon in June would be the busiest time of the year for Chandra Prakash Sharma from Bhurus Khola in Naumule rural municipality in the Dailekh district of Karnali, supportedly the remotest province of Nepal. He would spend around six to eight hours a day in his field through July, planting rice, as this time of the year got the most rain. But, this year, things have changed for Sharma who has finished all plantations by the end of May. The rice saplings have already grown as his field is lush green.

“Irrigation has always been a problem for us, due to which our harvest hasn’t been great in the past few years. All of this is happening despite my field being near the Lohure river,” says Sharma.