Haflong

Haflong is a town and headquarters of Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills) in the state of Assam in India. It is the only hill station in Assam.^[3]

Haflong The White Ant Hills Town
Town
A bird's eye view of Haflong town from Synod view point (altitude: 593 mt amsl approx).
Haflong Show map of Assam Haflong Show map of India Haflong Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 25.169°N 93.016°E / 25.169; 93.016
Country	India
State	Assam
District	Dima Hasao
Government
• Body	Haflong Municipal Board
Area
• Total	12.79 km2 (4.94 sq mi)
Elevation	966.216 m (3,170.000 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	43,756
• Density	3,400/km2 (8,900/sq mi)
Languages
• Lingua franca	Haflong Hindi[2]
• Most common	Bengali, Dimasa[2]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	788819 & 788820
Telephone code	03673
ISO 3166 code	IN-AS
Vehicle registration	AS 08-X XXXX

Etymology

Haflong is a Dimasa word meaning ant hill.^[4]

Geography

Haflong has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cwb), falling just short of a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). In May 2022, Haflong witnessed torrential rainfall, recording the highest rainfall, up to 451 mm on 14 May 2022, as compared to the maximum 190 mm to 200 mm reported annually.^[5]

Climate data for Haflong
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	28.8 (83.8)	25.2 (77.4)	28.4 (83.1)	29.0 (84.2)	20.0 (68.0)	28.3 (82.9)	26.5 (79.7)	28.2 (82.8)	25.8 (78.4)	24.3 (75.7)	26.0 (78.8)	18.1 (64.6)	29.0 (84.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	19.6 (67.3)	20.2 (68.4)	21.0 (69.8)	22.2 (72.0)	22.2 (72.0)	25.7 (78.3)	24.9 (76.8)	23.2 (73.8)	22.7 (72.9)	22.3 (72.1)	21.6 (70.9)	20.7 (69.3)	22.2 (72.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	8.3 (46.9)	12.0 (53.6)	15.9 (60.6)	20.0 (68.0)	22.7 (72.9)	20.9 (69.6)	20.6 (69.1)	20.6 (69.1)	21.7 (71.1)	21.9 (71.4)	16.7 (62.1)	11.8 (53.2)	17.8 (64.0)
Record low °C (°F)	3.7 (38.7)	4.1 (39.4)	6.3 (43.3)	12.0 (53.6)	13.2 (55.8)	15.4 (59.7)	18.4 (65.1)	18.1 (64.6)	15.7 (60.3)	10.6 (51.1)	8.3 (46.9)	5.0 (41.0)	3.7 (38.7)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	11.9 (0.47)	18.3 (0.72)	55.8 (2.20)	147.9 (5.82)	244.2 (9.61)	316.4 (12.46)	345.4 (13.60)	264.3 (10.41)	185.9 (7.32)	91.2 (3.59)	18.7 (0.74)	7.1 (0.28)	1,707.1 (67.22)
Average rainy days	1.8	2.9	5.8	13.1	17.0	19.6	22.3	18.5	15.2	7.4	2.8	1.3	127.7
Average relative humidity (%)	69	55	47	48	55	51	53	52	53	52	52	52	53
Mean monthly sunshine hours	106.3	174.7	180.1	181.0	152.2	102.0	104.0	121.2	98.0	104.6	131.0	132.5	1,587.6
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization.[6] NOAA (extremes & humidity, 1971–1990)[7]
Source 2: Hong Kong Observatory.[8]

Demographics

Languages spoken in Haflong town (2011)^[9]

1. Bengali (22.19%)
2. Dimasa (17.95%)
3. Hmar (11.25%)
4. Zemi (7.83%)
5. Kuki (6.92%)
6. Hindi (6.36%)
7. Assamese (2.82%)
8. others (24.68%)

Population

As of 2011, India census, Haflong has a population of 43,756. Males constitute 45% of the population and females 55%. Haflong has an average literacy rate of 92%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 75%. In Haflong, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. As of 2011^[update], Haflong town has a population of 43,756.^[1]

Population changes

Year	1951	1991	2001	2011
Population	2,168[10]	26,191[11]	36,302[11]	43,756[11]

Languages

Bengali is the most spoken language of the town with a population of 9,710, followed by Dimasa (7,855).^[9][2] Haflong Hindi is the lingua franca of the town.^[2] Other languages with significant population include Hmar (4,921), Zemi (3,426), Kuki (3,027), Hindi (2,781) and Assamese (1,236).^[9]

Government and politics

Haflong is part of Autonomous District (Lok Sabha constituency). It is the headquarter of Dima Hasao Autonomous Council.^{[citation needed]}