As snow and rain eludes Himachal Pradesh, the state is facing the driest January, breaking 23 years record.
This was revealed by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), as per their data available since 1901.
Earlier, January 1996 had held the record for being the driest January with 99.6 percent deficiency in precipitation and this year till date in the month of January it has broken the record with 99.7 percent precipitation deficiency.
Last week the weather in the state was mainly dry, however the state received light to moderate precipitation January 17 at isolated places.
Notwithstanding dense fog, cold wave and ground frost conditions were observed at isolated places in the districts of Una, Kangra, Bilaspur and Mandi, however the total cumulative precipitation till date in the month of January is 0.1 mm against normal precipitation of 43.1 mm and a departure of -99.7 percent.
According to the IMD weather will remain dry in the state for another week till January 25, although dense fog along with cold wave and frost conditions will likely continue at isolated places in the low hills.
IMD has issued an advisory that poor visibility conditions in the morning hours in the plains /low hill areas will persist creating difficulty to commute.