Government of Nepal started hydrological and meteorological activities in an organized way in 1962. The activities were initiated as a section under the Department of Electricity. The section was subsequently transferred to the Department of Irrigation and was ultimately upgraded to Department status in 1988.
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) is an organization under the Ministry of Water Resouces and Energy, Government of Nepal. The department with headquarters in Kathmandu has three basin offices: Karnali Basin Office in Nepalgunj, Narayani Basin Office in Narayanghat and Kosi Basin Office in Biratnagar. Meteorological activities in the Far_Western and Mid-Western region are managed by a regional office in Surkhet, whereas such activities in the Western Development Region and the Eastern Development Region are managed by meteorological regional offices located in Pokhara and Dharan respectively.
DHM has a mandate from Government of Nepal to monitor all the hydrological and meteorological activities in Nepal. The scope of work includes the monitoring of river hydrology, climate, agrometeorology, sediment, air quality, water quality, limnology, snow hydrology, glaciology, and wind and solar energy. General and aviation weather forecasts are the regular services provided by DHM.