An early spell of snow in the higher reaches and wide spread rains in the lower areas have brought down the mercury creating ideal conditions for the start of ice-skating season at Asia’s oldest natural ice-skating rink in the queen of hills.

In fact, the changing weather pattern due to the degradation of environment over the years has reduced the effective ice-skating season almost to half. The average temperature has been rising while the snow is becoming increasingly scarce, making it more and more difficult for water to freeze naturally.

The situation has worsened due to vanishing of trees on the hillside which used to provide shade to the rink. With the largest part of rink exposed to sun rays during the day time, evening sessions are not possible. Last year unfavorable weather marred the first two weeks of the season. In early 1960s and 1970s as many as 170 sessions used to take place and which reduced to 110 to 120 sessions till 1980.With the changing time and temperature in the town because of lots of concrete construction coming up in and around rink has drastically reduced skating sessions to almost 70 to 80.

Bhuvnash Banga, secretary of the Shimla Ice-skating Rink, says that because of favourable chilling weather we hope that this season we are going to have good season and the trial run for the ice-skating would be on November 27 and 28.