The hills are relatively warmer in Bengal this winter.

Darjeeling and its adjoining hills of Kalimpong and Kurseong are seeing clear blue skies with Kanchenjunga dazzling on the skyline for the past one week, pretty rare for the region in winter. In contrast, the plains are enveloped by thick fog in the morning.

Days are often gloomy with overcast skies. Darjeeling is still the coldest place in Bengal given the altitude of its hills which range from 6,500 to nearly 12,000 feet.

However, the maximum and minimum temperatures of Kalimpong, a hill town at an altitude of around 4000 feet, provide context to the unique weather situation this past week.

“From January 3, the weather in Darjeeling–Kalimpong and Sikkim has been bright and sunny and has stayed so till date,” said an IMD source.

On January 3, Kalimpong’s maximum temperature was 21°C and minimum temperature was 14.4°C.

The same day, Malda in the plains had a maximum temperature of 16.5°C. Minimum temperature of Malda, Murshidabad, Purulia and Birbhum were lower than Kalimpong.

Even on Sunday, many of the plains districts recorded lower maximum temperatures than Kalimpong.

“This region is witnessing clear weather as western disturbances are largely confined to western Himalayas,” said the IMD source and attributed fog in the plains to precipitation.

Sunny weather is raising the day temperature in the hills. On Sunday, Darjeeling recorded a maximum temperature of 13°C at 10.45am. Its lowest maximum temperature was 6°C at 2.15am.

“Dry weather is unlikely to remain unchanged in the hills till coming Saturday,” said a weatherman. This means that chance of snowfall is scarce for another week.

It is a common practice for hill residents, especially the elderly, from Darjeeling and Sikkim to move down to Siliguri during winter. But Siliguri is shivering.

“I use a room heater,” said Sinora Pradhan, a schoolteacher in Siliguri that saw a minimum temperature of 11°C on Sunday.

Experts maintain mercury is climbing in the region.

Santu Law, a research scholar on climate change in the Centre for Himalayan Studies of North Bengal University, said: “In the last 10 years, the temperature of Darjeeling has risem by about 1.5°C and can go up to 3°C in a decade. The temperature of Kurseong has risen by 0.5°C to 0.7°C in the past two decades.”

Prabir Ghosh, a geography teacher at a government school added: “Frequency of sudden and intense rains has increased. We should remember that tea, the mainstay of the economy here, is very sensitive to climate change.”

Additional reporting by Binita Paul in Siliguri