SHIMLA: Wear half-sleeve shirts, stay indoors in the afternoon and turn on the fan or the air-conditioner. It was an advisory usually seen for the Indian plains that scorched during the summer.
But not anymore as the effects of global warming were seen on the alluring hill stations of Himachal Pradesh – that attract hordes of tourists during the summers – as the mercury soars.
Dharamshala, the abode of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama which has emerged as a global tourist destination, in particular, has been witnessing unprecedented warm weather. The maximum temperature recorded in Dharamshala on Sunday (June 5) was 37.2 degrees Celsius, which was 4.9 degrees above normal.
It was higher than 36.7 degrees that was recorded in Bhuntar (Kullu), comparatively seen as a warmer place. At 37 degrees, even Solan witnessed a lower temperature than Dharamshala, the headquarters of the Kangra district.
Though fans had become a norm in several parts of Dharamshala in recent years, the trend of installing ACs has been fast catching up with the residents following the record heat wave.
A trader dealing in electronic goods says there has been a high demand for ACs this season. An architect, Vivek Rana, says people are now asking to make provision for fans and air-conditioning ducts in new buildings as the mercury is sizzling several notches above the normal.
The situation is no better in Manali where the maximum temperature touched 29.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Diki Thakur, a local guesthouse owner, says hotels along the highway have started installing ACs, something unheard of in Manali a few years ago.
Even in Shimla, which is situated at an altitude of 2,130 metres and where the maximum temperature on Sunday was 28.6 degrees Celsius, the residents have started exploring the option of having cooling systems in houses. “Most people in lower areas of Shimla have now started preferring air-conditioners to fans,” says Sunil Chauhan, a resident of New Shimla.