Snow in summer, Dharamsala, Keylong see lowest May temperature

Subhash Rajta

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Shimla, May 9

The cold and wet May has left the hill state surprised. The last time the state witnessed such low temperatures in the month of May was way back in 1987.

Sandeep Sharma, a scientist at Shimla Meteorological Centre, said, “We checked our records in Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala, Kalpa, Una and Palampur and found that the average minimum and maximum temperatures deviated so much from normal in 1987.”

In a major deviation from the normal this year, Dharamsala and Keylong registered the lowest-ever minimum temperature of May. Dharamsala recorded 8.4 degrees Celsius on May 1 and 8 (the previous lowest was 8.7 degrees Celsius, recorded on May 6, 2009). Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti logged a low of -2.6 degrees Celsius today, breaking the record lowest temperature of -1.6 degrees Celsius in 2019.

Not only the average temperatures are markedly below normal (the average deviation is about 4 to 6 degrees Celsius), the rainfall has been 13 per cent above normal. The precipitation recorded in pre-monsoon season till date in the state is 222.8 mm as against the normal precipitation of 197.1 mm.

Besides, snowfall too also been recorded over the last three days, mainly in Lahaul and Spiti. The main areas which received snowfall are Gondla, Keylong and Hansa. Some areas in Kinnaur too recorded snow. “It’s not unusual for these two districts to receive snow in May. It happened in 2018 and 2020 as well,” said Sharma.