Records from the nearest meteorological station, located at Kakani on the southern
watershed of the Likhu Khola basin, show that about 90% of the annual rainfall in
the area occurs between May and September, during the pre-monsoon and monsoon
seasons, with highest monthly totals in July and August. In terms of total pre-monsoon
and monsoon rainfall in the Likhu Khola basin, both 1992 (2141 mm) and
1993 (2211 mm) were below average for the 1981–91 period (mean 2558 mm). The
all-Nepal monsoon record is highly correlated with the Southern Oscillation Index
and 1992 was an exceptionally dry year coinciding with the elongated El Nin˜o of
1992–3 (Shrestha, Wake, Dibb, & Mayewski, 2000)