Farmers Reading Nature’s Clues to Figure Out Impending Weather

Abstract

Abstract Traditional ways of reading nature’s clues to figure out impending weather are widely practiced in many rural societies in the world. They have been, however, often discounted by a western science-based meteorological forecasting system, although they are important sociocultural tools for mitigating climatic risks. This paper concerns two thematic issues: traditional knowledge about reading nature’s clues to figure out impending weather; and the transformation of that knowledge in the changing context of livelihood, the intervention of modern education, and use of modern weather forecasting technology. This study was carried out at Kirtipur of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, between 2011 and 2021. Information was collected through key informant interviews, observation, and informal discussion and survey. The findings reveal that the traditional weather forecasting system is closely intertwined with climatic phenomena, traditional agriculture practices, the local landscape, myths, and beliefs. The recognition of farmers’ knowledge on weather forecasting should be a resource of a great potential value. However, rapid expansion of the market economy, access to modern technology, affordability, access to modern education, and anthropogenic climate change have gradually detached people from their farmlands, traditional livelihoods, and occupations. All of this seems to have weakened social interaction between generations as well as their attachment to nature. Last, we conclude that the production and consumption of weather forecasting knowledge need local and scientific communities to work together to reduce knowledge gaps. Significance Statement The purpose of this study is to understand how farmers read nature to figure out impending weather, even as such knowledge is gradually weakening with the expansion of new technology, the intervention of modern education, the shift from farming-based to nonfarming activities for livelihood, and climate change. In such a context, the survival of traditional weather forecasting knowledge may seem uncertain. Our study reveals that traditional weather forecasting knowledge is rooted in the local landscape and subsistence farming culture. Therefore, the production and consumption of weather forecasting knowledge need local and scientific communities to work together to reduce knowledge gaps and recognize the contributions of both types of knowledge.