Shimla, Dec 29 (IANS) The weather in the hills of Himachal Pradesh is "warm" compared to the northern plains where the fog is screening out the sun.
In the hills, the sun shines regularly, resulting in some towns like Shimla being warmer than Chandigarh, or Punjab and Haryana cities in the plains, the Met office said on Thursday. Sunny conditions would continue till the beginning of the new year and thereafter there are chances of snow and rain in the region.
Data accessed from the weather bureau indicates the weather in hill destinations of Shimla, Kufri, Dharamsala and Palampur is warmer and perfect for a break from the biting chill of the plains where the sun has largely been fogged out.
"What a strong sun is in Shimla. It's really a perfect break from the fog in plains," said Kapil Ganguli, a tourist from Delhi.
"We really surprised to a pleasant winter here. We came here to see snow but we are enjoying sunny weather too," his wife Keya added.
Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological department, said most of the hill destinations have a pleasant weather owing to long sunny days compared to the plains.
"The maximum temperature in the hills is two-three degrees above average compared to the plains due to prevailing dry weather," he said.
Singh said the sunny weather conditions would continue in the hills till January 2.
"A fresh western disturbance is likely to be active in the region from January 3. Initially, it is likely to cause precipitation over northern parts of Jammu and Kashmir on January 3 and cover entire western Himalayan region and plains of northwest India for subsequent three-four days. It may cause moderate to heavy snowfall over Himalayan region, including Himachal Pradesh," he said.
In Shimla, located around 7,000 feet above sea level, the maximum temperature was 18.3 degrees Celsius, whereas the minimum was 11.7 degrees.
The night temperature in Dharamsala was 8.6 degrees Celsius, whereas popular tourist resort Manali saw a low of 3.2 degrees.
At 1.9 degrees below freezing point, Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was the coldest in the state. Kalpa, some 250 km from the state capital, saw a low of 3.2 degrees Celsius.
In Chandigarh, the minimum temperature was 9.2 degree Celsius which was 2.5 degrees less than in Shimla.
The minimum temperature was 7.4 degrees Celsius in Amritsar, 5.8 degrees in Ludhiana, 10.2 degrees in Patiala (all in Punjab) and 7.6 degrees in Karnal, eight degrees in Hisar and 11.2 degrees in Ambala (all in Haryana).
In Delhi the minimum temperature settled at 7.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average.
