Shimla, Dec 2 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh’s state capital Shimla shivered through the season’s coldest night Thursday as the mercury recorded a sudden, sharp drop of 5.1 degrees, a Met official here said.
Many other towns like Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti, and Kalpa in Kinnaur district went into freeze as the mercury dipped to sub-zero levels.
‘Shimla recorded a maximum decline of 5.1 degrees Celsius from Wednesday’s 8.2 degrees Celsius. It was season’s coldest night so far and was the maximum nose dive in a day,’ meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS.
He attributed the sudden fall in the temperature to the strong northwesterly cold and dry winds.
‘Even the day temperature declined by 3.1 degrees from Wednesday’s 17.1 degrees Celsius,’ he said.
A wave of sudden cold also spread across the hill state. Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest town in the state with a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius, whereas the maximum was a mere 6.6 degrees Celsius.
Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.5 degree Celsius, while the day temperature was 12.5 degrees Celsius.
Dharamsala in Kangra district recorded a low of 4.9 degrees while the minimum temperature in Bhuntar of Kullu district was 1.5 degrees Celsius.
These towns recorded the maximum temperature at 19.6 degrees and 20.2 degrees Celsius respectively Thursday.
The Met office says cold, dry weather would continue across the region for the next few days.
