If fog bothers you, visit the hills of Himachal

If the fog in the northern plains is screening out the sun, then step into Himachal Pradesh and visit its hills where the sun is regularly shining these days.

The weather in Himachal's hill destinations of Shimla, Kasauli, Chail, Kufri, Dharamsala, Palampur and Manali is sunny and perfect for a break from the biting chill of the plains, weather officials said on Sunday.

Manmohan Singh, director of Shimla's meteorological department, told IANS that the hill stations these days were having pleasant weather owing to long sunny days compared to the plains.

"The maximum temperature in the hills is 2-5 degrees above normal these days," he said.

Most of the hill destinations have had high or close to day temperature compared to the plains, he said.

"This is a normal phenomenon as there are long sunny days in the hills compared to the plains where there is plenty of fog," he said.

Humidity level of 70 percent or more causes fog. In the plains, he said, it was almost 100 percent. However, in the hills it is between 30 and 40 percent.

Singh said this trend would continue in the hills till the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- would be active in the region.

"This week there is no chance of rain or snow in the entire region," he added.

In Shimla, located around 7,000 feet above sea level, the minimum temperature was 4.4 degrees Celsius.

The night temperature in Dharamsala was 6.2 degrees Celsius, whereas popular tourist resort Manali saw a low of minus 2 degrees.

At 9.2 degrees below freezing point, Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was the coldest in the state. Kalpa, some 250 km from the state capital, saw a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius.

"It's pleasant to be in the hills when the plains are foggy," said Rajiv Srivastava, a tourist from Delhi. "Even the nights are pleasant in Shimla," his wife Isha added.