In 123 years, Himachal Pradesh faces driest winters

Shimla: Neither winter rains nor Snow puts Himachal Pradesh on a testing time as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) claimed that the state was facing its driest January, breaking its 123 year old record since 1901.

Earlier to this, January 1996 posted a record for being the driest month in Himachal Pradesh with highest 99.6 per cent deficiency in precipitation.

The current month has further surpassed that record with a remarkable 99.7 per cent precipitation deficiency.

“The dry spell has persisted throughout the month, with only isolated instances of light to moderate precipitation providing relief. The past week has seen predominantly dry weather across the state, with a slight change on January 17, 2024, when some areas experienced light to moderate precipitation. However, this was not enough to alleviate the severe dry conditions persisting in the region” said officials here.

The month of January 2024, up until January 18 has registered a meagre 0.1 precipitation against its normal precipitation of 43.1. Clearly, this is a deficit of -99.7 per cent underlying an intense drought-like conditions in the hills.

A close look at the data released here show that since 1901, the rare ten years with lowest precipitation are 2007 with minus 98.5 percent, 1902 with minus 92.4, 1986 with 91.4 percent, 2018 minus 90.5, 1916 minus 87.8, 1936 minus 86.5 percent,1963 and 1998 both minus 83.5, and 1914 minus 81.4 per cent.

Dry weather conditions have not only delayed the fieldwork in the orchards but also in the plain areas where the Ravi crop has started wilting.