By IANS,
Shimla : As Shimla recorded its second hottest March since 1901 this year, the hills of Himachal Pradesh continued to experience a summer hotter than usual with temperatures in some parts touching 40.6 degrees Celsius.
The weatherman says the hot conditions would continue for the next few days as there were little chances of rain.
“This month too seems to be heading the same way with temperatures almost nine degrees above normal for this time of the year,” Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office in Shimla, told IANS.
He attributed the rise in temperatures to the dominance of westerly and southerly winds in the normally prevalent north-westerly to northerly winds.
“The entire state has been experiencing lack of rain in the past few weeks. Normally, during this period, the state experiences rain or thundershowers which keep the temperatures pleasantly cool,” he said.
“There is a mild western disturbance positioned over Jammu and Kashmir but that would bring little respite as only the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh would experience a mild spell of showers,” Singh added.
Shimla Sunday recorded a minimum temperature of 17.3 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above average. It recorded a high of 27 degrees Celsius, nine notches above average, Saturday.
Popular tourist resorts like Narkanda, Kufri, Kasauli, Manali, Palampur, Chamba and Dalhousie were also experiencing much hotter weather.
According to Singh, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Una districts adjoining Punjab have been experiencing much warmer conditions.
“Una town was the hottest in the state with a high of 40.6 degrees Celsius Saturday,” Singh said.
Dharamsala, the venue of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, also experienced a high of 32.6 degrees Celsius, eight degrees above average. The town has been experiencing night temperatures of around 16 degrees Celsius.
Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti and still marooned in snow, also saw a rise in temperatures. The minimum temperature of Keylong Sunday was 5.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above average.
Last month, Shimla experienced its second hottest March since 1901.
Singh said the highest temperature of 25.8 degrees Celsius was recorded March 23, making it the warmest day Shimla experienced since 2004. The record high since 1901 was recorded March 27, 2004, when the maximum was 27.2 degrees Celsius.