Rains in Himachal bring relief from scorching heat
People in the lower hills of Himachal Pradesh were in for relief from the scorching heat as light rainfall across the state brought down the mercury by several notches
People in the lower hills of Himachal Pradesh were in for relief from the scorching heat as light rainfall across the state brought down the mercury by several notches. The higher reaches experienced light snow.
Kukumseri was the coldest place in the state at 2.1 degrees Celsius, while Keylong, the administrative centre of tribal Lahaul-Spiti district, saw a low of 6 degrees Celsius.
Director of India Meteorological Department’s Shimla centre, Surender Paul said that night temperatures dropped by 8 degrees Celsius at some places while the day temperatures were plunged 4-14 degrees Celsius. The night temperatures were normal while the day temperatures were recorded appreciably normal.
Pachhad was the wettest, experiencing 34mm of rainfall followed by Mandi 22mm and Dalhousie 18mm. Palampur got 17.4mm of rainfall, Nahan 17.2mm, Kangra 16.6mm, Kukumseri 13.2mm, Dharamshala 13mm and Bharmour 11.2mm.
The state has received 14% surplus rains to this day in May, getting an average of 59.9mm of rainfall against a normal of 48.3mm. Solan got 90% surplus rains and Kullu 74%. Three districts of Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Hamirpur were -38%, -26% and -7% rain deficit.
The sky remained overcast throughout the state and strong winds accompanied by intermittent rain swept the region. Certain areas in Kangra, Mandi and Bilaspur experienced hailstorm.
The Shimla Meteorological office has issued a yellow warning of thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places from May 25 to 27. It predicted light to moderate rains in plains, lower hills, and mid hills, and light to moderate rains or snowfall in the higher hills till May 28.
The MeT office said that the hailstorm may damage crops and the growers have been advised to take adequate safety measures and follow advisories and guidelines issued by the departments.
Popular hill destinations, including Shimla, Dalhousie, Kufri and Narkanda, recorded minimum temperatures of 13.2 degrees Celsius, 11.6 degrees Celsius, Kufri 10.4 degrees Celsius, 8.9 degrees Celsius, respectively. Dharamshala saw a low of 11.2 degrees Celsius, Mashobra 12 degrees Celsius and Palampur 16 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Una was the hottest, recording the maximum temperature at 38 degrees Celsius, followed by Hamirpur 34.4 degrees Celsius, Dhaulakuan 33.7 degrees, Bilaspur 33.1 degrees, Berthin 32.8 degrees and Nahan 31.8 degrees. State capital Shimla saw a high of 24 degrees Celsius, Dalhousie 19.2 degrees Celsius, Kufri 17.2 degrees and Narkanda 15.5 degrees.
