Well, one word that is mostly associated with India is ‘diverse’. Home to a brilliant mix of cultures, languages, religions, cuisines, topography and flora-fauna, how can it not have diverse temperatures. While many regions are moderate, some are cold, and others face heavy rains for most parts of the year. Some of regions are dry and arid while others are humid. Considering all this, there are few of those places which have extreme weather/topographic conditions.
Let us look at those places which have broken all records to become the ‘extreme-st’ of extremes!
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1. Hottest – Phalodi, Rajasthan
Phalodi town is in the buffer zone of Thar Desert in Rajasthan holds the world record for the highest verified temperature in 2016 at 51 Degree Celsius. It is also called the Salt City as there are various salt industries located here.
2. Coldest – Dras, Jammu & Kashmir
Dras is a quaint scenic town that lies between the Zoji La Pass and Kargil town in Jammu and Kashmir. It is called the Gateway to Ladakh and has been the coldest place in India for many decades. Located at an elevation of 10, 800 feet, the average temperature recorded in Dras is around -23 Degree Celsius. However, in the January 1995 it broke all records when it recorded a temperature of -60 Degree Celsius as per a BRO signboard.
3. Lowest – Kuttanad, Kerala
As weird as it sounds, the Kuttanad region of Kerela has the lowest altitude in the whole of India, and farming is carried out 4-10 feet below sea level. It is also one of few places in the world where farming is carried out at such a low altitude.
4. Highest – Kangchenjunga
Located at an elevation of 28,169 feet, Kangchenjunga is the 3rd highest mountain in the world and highest in India. It is located at the Indo-Nepal border with 3 of its 5 peaks right on the border and the remaining 2 in Nepal.
5. Wettest – Mawsynram, Meghalaya
Mawsynram village is located in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya and currently holds the record of being the wettest place in India with an average rainfall of 11,872 mm. It is also believed to be the wettest place on earth and had recorded a whopping 26,000 mm of rainfall in 1985 by the Guinness Book of World Records.
6. Driest – Leh, Jammu & Kashmir
The town of Leh, located at an elevation of 11,500 feet is the driest place in India, receiving an average of 102 mm of rainfall annually. It has a cold desert climate with the minimum temperatures below freezing for most of the winters.
Now that you know, which area would you go to, to experience its extreme characteristic?
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