Migrate to survive: Water woes clear out villages in hilly Nepal

Climate migration is rising among many communities in Nepal as worsening droughts and erratic rainfall cause water shortages.

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Nepal is the fourth most climate-vulnerable country in the world, according to World Bank rankings, and increasingly harsh weather fuelled by climate change is bringing worsening water extremes, from droughts to floods that wash away homes and even entire villages.

Water shortages are a problem nationwide, but they are most acute in hilly areas, including those near the Hindu-Kush and Himalayan mountains, where drying springs and erratic rain and snowfall are causing a water crisis....

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Khotang has the second-highest migration rate among Nepal's 77 districts, according to Rabi Kiran Acharya, information officer at the Halesi Tuwachung municipality in the region.

The district's population nearly halved, to 100,000 people, between 2011 and 2021, he said. 
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The municipality has built ponds to try to capture more water and recharge underground sources in each of its 11 wards. It has also distributed materials including pipes for rainwater harvesting projects, the official said.

But such harvesting initiatives - which collect rainfall that falls on roofs and filter it in a tank before dispensing clean water - do not work during prolonged dry spells.