The hill station of Shimla, a centre of attraction for people from all over the world, is losing its winter glow as snowy scenes are now a rare sight. The thick white blanket of snow has now been replaced by dry winters, leaving locals worried whether the same trend will continue in the coming years.
Shimla, located at an average altitude of 2,205 meters in the northwestern Himalayas, was once known for its pleasant summer weather and extreme cold and snowfall in winter. However, as a result of changes in the weather cycle, indiscriminate construction and deforestation, the city is receiving little or no snowfall during the winter season compared to the past.
Shimla’s snowfall, which historically started in December, has shifted to January and early February in the last 15 years. While Shimla used to experience bone-chilling cold during December, January and February in the past, this year the city is feeling quite warm with the maximum temperature ranging between 15°C and 21°C. The lowest maximum temperature recorded in Shimla this month was 15.6°C, while the highest was 21.6°C.Similarly, the minimum temperature has also been between 5°C and 12.2°C, which is a big change as earlier the average temperature in December used to be between 3°C and 10°C. This year the situation has become even more alarming as the state has witnessed a 99 percent deficiency in rainfall in December. Shimla, which used to receive 21.4 mm of rainfall in December, has not received any rain or snowfall this time, leading to a drought-like situation.
Shimla resident Vijay Thakur says it is hard to believe that a few decades ago we used to prepare for winter with enthusiasm, but now December feels like summer and people don’t even need to wear heavy warm clothes. He said it seems that our future generations may not be able to see snowfall.