Chandigarh, Amritsar colder than Shimla
DELHI’S MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SETTLED AT 8.6 DEGREES CELSIUS — TWO NOTCHES LOWER THAN IN SHIMLA
CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh and the holy city of Amritsar in Punjab were on Saturday colder than the ‘Queen of Hills’ - Shimla.
Likewise, many places in the plains of north India like Ludhiana, Patiala and Hisar were colder than hilly tourist destinations Shimla and Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, the met office said.
Chandigarh, located in the Shiva lik foot hills, recorded a minimum temperature at 9 degrees Celsius, while Shimla, located around 7,000 feet above sea level, saw a low of 10.6 degrees, a rise of four degrees from Friday, while Dharamsala recorded a low of 7 degrees Celsius.
Punjab’s cities Amritsar and Ludhiana and Hisar in Haryana recorded a low of 6.8 degrees, 9.2 and 6.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Delhi’s minimum temperature settled at 8.6 degrees Celsius — two notches lower than in Shimla.
Hill stations across Himachal Pradesh have been experiencing long hours of sunny weather for thepast few days andthe temperatures in most places have risen by three-four degrees above the season’s average.
The maximum temperature in Shimla is likely to hover around 18 degrees Celsius.
Manmohan Singh, director of Shimla’s Meteorological Office, told IANS that Shimla and Dharamhsala saw high night temperature compared to the plains.
At 5.4 degrees below the freezing point, Keylong in LahaulSpiti district was the coldest place in Himachal Pradesh.
“This is a normal phenomenon and occurs mainly due to settling of inversion layer on mountain tops,” he said.
Generally, the air becomes cooler as elevation increases. The day temperature in most of the plains is abnormally high compared to Shimla. The warm air lifted from the plains overlaid the existing cold air in the mountains.
Singh said since Shimla and Dharamshala were near the plains, the impact of inversion layer was more there. However, picturesque tourist resort Manali was in the grip of bone-chilling chill with a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius.