Warmest ever December in Shimla, Kalpa

SHIMLA: Shimla, the queen of hills and Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur district experienced the warmest ever December while Himachal Pradesh witnessed the driest post monsoon season after 2005.
December-2016 was the warmest ever month in the city having monthly average minimum temperature of 8.6 degrees Celsius, with a slight rise after 2008 when it was 8.3 degrees while the earlier highest monthly minimum temperature was 7.7 degrees Celsius in 1918, Director Shimla MeT station Manmohan Singh said today.
Similarly, highest maximum temperature in the Himachal capital was 18.4 degrees Celsius during this month compared to previous highest of 16.9 degrees Celsius in December 1998.
Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur district also recorded the highest minimum and maximum temperatures during December after 1998-99 and the monthly maximum and minimum temperatures were 14.3 degrees and 1.3 degrees.
Previous highest average monthly maximum temperature in Kalpa was 12.3 degrees Celsius during 1999 and the highest average monthly minimum temperature in Kalpa was 1.2 degrees Celsius during 1998, he said.
After 2005 when the precipitation was 98 per cent less, Himachal Pradesh received the lowest precipitation of 7.5 mm during this Post Monsoon Season (October-December) which is 93 per cent less due to absence of any significant Western Disturbance (WDs) in the state.
Earlier , the most deficient precipitation was 83 per cent in 2011, he added.
The average rainfall was 99 per cent deficit in Lahaul and Spiti, 97 per cent in Hamirpur, 95 per cent in Kullu, 93 per cent in Chamba, Kangra and Kinnaur; 88 per cent in Una, 87 per cent in Shimla, 86 per cent in Mandi, 85 per cent in Sirmaur, 80 per cent in Bilaspur and 74 per cent in Solan district.