Cold tightens grip in state

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 14

With the early setting of winter and cold wave tightening its grip, the tribal belt and high-altitude mountainous areas are reeling under severe cold.

The minimum temperature has ranged between minus five and minus eight in the high-altitude areas and all natural sources of water like springs, lakes, rivulets and tributaries of rivers have started freezing.

There is a gradual fall in the discharge of water in rivers, affecting the hydropower generation which has dropped by 20 per cent for the past one month. The MeT office has predicted rain or snow at isolated places for five days from October 16 to 20 and rain and thundershowers at a few places in mid hills from October 17 to 20.

The minimum temperature is hovering around freezing point in tribal areas while it dipped two or three degree below normal at most places. The maximum day temperature has also dropped marginally and stayed close to normal in lower hills.

Keylong and Kalpa in the tribal Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded the minimum temperature at minus 0.1 degree and 3.2 degree while the mercury dipped to 3 degree in Manali, followed by Kufri 7.9 degree, Bhuntar 8.8 degree, Solan 9.5 degree, Sundernagar 9.8 degree, Palampur 10.2 degree and Shimla 10.5 degree, one to three degree below normal.

Himachal received 12 per cent excess rain during the monsoon but the rain deficit was 60 per cent from October 1 to 14 and the shortfall was 100 per cent in Kinnaur district, 92 per cent in Sirmaur and Solan, 81 per cent in Shimla, 69 per cent in Una, 64 per cent in Hamirpur and 63 per cent in Mandi.

Una was the hottest with a high of 31.4 degree while Shimla, Dharamsala and Solan recorded a high of 19.9 degree, 23.4 degree and 24 degree.

The forecast

Thundershowers may occur in Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, parts of Solan, Sirmaur and Chamba districts, while Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba, and higher areas of Kullu and Mandi districts may witness snowfall.