Even Himachal’s hill stations are reeling under a heat wave

In mid-June, as a heat wave swept through North India, many from the plains escaped to Himachal Pradesh, only to find that its hill stations were also in the grip of scorching weather.

In fact, heat wave conditions prevailed in hill stations of the state – an unusual situation, officials from the Shimla centre of the Indian Meteorological Department told Scroll. Two hill stations, Nahan and Kangra, saw the second-highest temperatures they had ever recorded. Nahan recorded 39.9 degrees Celsius, a little lower than the 40.8 degrees recorded in 1995, while Kangra recorded 41.8 degrees, just under the 42 degrees it recorded in 2017.

According to the met department’s definition, in the plains, a heat wave is said to occur in a particular meteorological subdivision either when the maximum temperature is above 45 degrees, or if it is above 40 degrees but is higher than the normal by at least 4.5 degrees. In the hills, a heat wave is supposed to take place when the maximum temperature is above 30 degrees, and is higher than the normal by at least 4.5 degrees. Further, this criteria has to be met in at least two weather stations within the subdivision for at least two consecutive days.

“We have seen...

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