There has been mild rain in Kathmandu on Friday after a gap of more than five months.

According to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DOMH), there has been a 2.3 mm rainfall in Kathmandu. DOMH officials said Friday’s rainfall was due to the “western wind” that was flowing from western parts of India and Nepal and was moving towards eastern region. They said the impact of “western wind” will remain till Saturday and there will be improvement in the weather from Sunday.

Mid-western district of Surkhet had the heaviest rainfall on Friday receiving 14.3 mm of rain, according to DOHM.

Experts said Friday’s rain would have beneficial impact on winter crops and may also augment water sources. It was, however, not clear whether it would help to lessen the impact of countrywide power cuts.

There had been no rain in Kathmandu and other parts of the country throughout winter (during the months of November-February).