Moderate to heavy rain in Himachal; Shimla wettest

Tribune News Service
Shimla, June 16

Moderate to heavy monsoon rain lashed most parts of the state and Shimla was the wettest with 73 mm of rain.

The local meteorological office has issued a yellow warning of thunderstorm and lightning in low and middle hills of Bilaspur, Shimla and Sirmaur on June 17; Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur on June 18; Kangra and Kullu on June 19; and Chamba and Mandi on June 20.

Shimla was the wettest with 73 mm of rain, followed by Sundernagar with 49 mm of rain, Kahu 37 mm, Mandi 36 mm, Jogindernagar 27 mm, Bhoranj 26 mm, Nalagarh 25 mm, Palampur and Sarkaghat 22 mm each, Arki 21mm, Dalhousie 19 mm each, Naina Devi and Dharamsala 18 mm each, Manali 17 mm, Barsar 14.5 mm, Kasauli, Dehra Gopipur, Tissa, Bajura, Olinda and Amb 14 mm each, Malan 13.5 mm, Chamba, Bilaspur, Dharmpur and Ghumarwin 12 mm each, Bhuntar and Hamirpur 11 mm each and Jubbarhatti 10 mm.

These rains are a boon for farmers in rainfed areas as it would help in timely sowing of kharif crops like maize, paddy, pulses and oilseed. Farmers in lower areas are happy as rains have come at the right time for sowing the crops.

The high altitude tribal areas experienced traces of snow, causing a sharp fall in temperature in adjoining valleys. The minimum temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees Celsius below normal and Keylong in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest at night. The maximum temperatures dropped by 9 to 10 degrees Celsius and Una with 30.7 degrees Celsius was the hottest in the day.

The monsoon arrived almost two weeks early this year and the state received 39 per cent excess rains from June 1 to June 16. In this summer season from March 1 to May 31, Himachal received 105 mm of rain which was 11 per cent deficit.

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