Shimla / Chandigarh, January 1
Chandigarh and most of the plains of Punjab and Haryana were on Friday colder than the ‘Queen of the Hills’: Shimla.
The reason: the sun is shining brightly in Himachal Pradesh these days, while a thick layer of fog refuses to lift off from most of the northern plains of India.
Many places on the plains, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Ambala and Hisar were colder than the mountainous tourist destinations of Shimla, Kufri, Dharamsala and Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh, said the Chandigarh Meteorological Office.
Chandigarh, located in the foothills of Shivalik, recorded a minimum temperature of 6.1 degrees Celsius, while Shimla, located about 7,000 feet above sea level, recorded a minimum of 6.8 degrees, Kufri 4.8 degrees, Dalhousie at 7 degrees and Dharamsala 3.2 degrees Celsius.
Shimla, the Queen of the Hills, is seeing the ‘warmest’ days due to long periods of sunshine, while cities like Chandigarh, Amritsar, Karnal, New Delhi and Lucknow, located on the plains, are reeling under a wave of intense cold while the sun remains. tarnished. Parts of Delhi registered 1.1 degrees Celsius, the coldest so far this season.
Destinations in the hills have experienced long hours of sunny weather for more than a week and daytime temperatures in most places have risen. Dry weather would prevail through Jan.4, the Met’s Shimla office said.
But the nights and mornings are intensely cold.
Data accessed from the meteorological office indicates that the weather in the mountainous destinations of Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Chail, Kasauli, Dharamsala, Palampur, Dalhousie and Manali is ‘warmer’ during the day, perfect for a break from the biting cold of the plains.
“What a nice sun in Shimla. In Delhi, sunbathing these days is a rare occasion,” said tourist Sahil Khanna.
“We are enjoying the long sunny days,” added his wife Shilpi.
Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological department in Shimla, told IANS that maximum temperatures rose by a degree or two due to the prevailing dry weather.
He said that the humidity level of more than 80 percent causes fog.
“In the plains it is more than 80 percent. However, in the hills it is about 50 percent these days.”
Hisar in Haryana shook to minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 0.2 degrees in Narnaul, 4.4 degrees in Ambala and 3.5 degrees in Karnal.
Punjab’s Faridkot recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius.
“It will be bright and sunny until January 4, when there are chances of widespread snow and rain in the state,” Singh added. This will be along with other parts of northern India where the IMD is forecasting rain. – IANS
