Places in North India such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Hisar and Karnal remain colder on Wednesday than hilly tourist destinations like Shimla, Dharamsala and Palampur, the Met office said.
The minimum temperature in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday was recorded two-three degrees above the season's average owing to long sunny hours, leading to a rise in temperature, a Met official told IANS here.
Shimla, located around 7,000 feet above the sea level, recorded 11 degree Celsius as the minimum temperature.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 10.4 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala, the abode of Tibetan spiritual leader, and 10.7 degrees Celsius in Nahan.
In Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest city in the region with the minimum temperature recorded at 5.5 degrees Celsius while Punjab's Amritsar and Ludhiana saw 7.7 degrees Celsius and 7.8 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature respectively.
Chandigarh recorded a minimum temperature of 8.8 degrees Celsius, while in Haryana, Ambala with 10.3 degrees Celsius, Karnal (9.5 degrees Celsius) and Hisar (6.3 degrees Celsius) were in the grip of cold.
Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh was the coldest in the region with a low of minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, while picturesque tourist resort Manali recorded 2.8 degrees Celsius.
"What a perfect break in Shimla from the biting chill of the plains where the sun has largely been fogged out," said Siddharth Pandey, a tourist from Delhi.
His wife Aamira said: "It's nice to be in the hills when the fog starts blanketing the plains."
Dense fog engulfed Delhi on Wednesday morning with the minimum temperature recorded at 11.2 degrees Celsius.
Shimla and Delhi on Tuesday recorded a high of 20.4 and 24.8 degrees Celsius respectively.
Manmohan Singh, director of Shimla Met department, told IANS that the hill stations in Himachal Pradesh have a more pleasant weather owing to sunshine.
"The minimum and maximum temperatures are high due to prevailing dry weather and no foggy conditions," he said.
The humidity level of 70 per cent or more causes fog. In the plains, it is almost 100 per cent these days.
However, the humidity was recorded between 30 and 40 per cent in the hills.
Singh said the dry weather conditions will continue in the region till the weekend.
--IANS
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