Soaring mercury baffles tourists

SHIMLA, May 25: Both, the locals and the tourists are baffled over the soaring mercury in the hill capital for the past three days. As the s...

SHIMLA, May 25: Both, the locals and the tourists are baffled over the soaring mercury in the hill capital for the past three days. As the sun rises the mercury starts going up, rather unexpectedly, and by noon it crosses 30 Celsius mark.

Last week, after the rain, hail and sleet, the weather had become pleasant though water supply did create some problems. Now that the drinking water supply has normalised, barring few areas, the weather is unusually hot and is leaving people uncomfortable and sweaty.

Even today the temperature was around 20 degree Celsius, at the Ridge, at 10 a.m. The electronic watch at the Ridge reflects rapid rise in the mercury level all day long. Yesterday, the temperature was 32 degree Celsius.

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The usual crowd of the tourists is also missing from the Mall and Ridge during the day time. The tourists are seen sitting under shelters and prefer to come out on the Mall during the evening hours.

Old timers say there has been a change in the weather cycle in and around Shimla. Some wonder if the Pokhran tests have something to do with the unusally hot weather in the town. Elders attribute the increase in the temperature to the diminishing greenery and felling of trees in and around the town, for the fast growing population and construction activities.

The installation of fans in the commercial establishments of the town are also indicative of the hot weather conditions. Over 70 per cent of the house holds have refrigerators. The dealers reveal that sales of refrigerators has increased manifolds in the town.

Night temperature is not very high. In the lower areas quilts are not being used however, people are using blankets in the night. The temperature during the night does not fall below 10 degree Celsius.