Monsoon withdraws from parts of Himachal, likely to leave state in two days: IMD

Meanwhile, mild snowfall was witnessed in the higher reaches of Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts in the past 24 hours as a fresh western disturbance approached the state, the MeT said on Saturday.

The southwest monsoon which entered Himachal Pradesh on June 24 started withdrawing from parts of the state on Saturday, MeT officials said.

The monsoon started withdrawing from Kangra, Una, Bilaspur, Himpur and lower areas of Solan and Sirmaur districts on Saturday and is likely to leave the entire state in the next two days, India Meteorological Department (IMD) officer Sandeep Sharma told PTI.

According to the IMD, Himachal Pradesh received 884.8 mm of rains from June 1 till September 30, against the normal of 734.4 mm -- an excess of 20 per cent.

This monsoon, Solan was the wettest in the state with 1,493.6 mm of rains against the normal of 874.3 mm -- an excess of 71 per cent, data released by the IMD showed.

A rain deficit of 41 per cent was noted in the Lahaul and Spiti district which received 224.3 mm of rainfall against the normal of 382.9 mm. Meanwhile, mild snowfall was witnessed in the higher reaches of Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts in the past 24 hours as a fresh western disturbance approached the state, the MeT said on Saturday. As the higher reaches of Baralacha and Sarchu were covered under a thin layer of snow, the tourism operators of the twin districts were upbeat, hoping that the snow would increase the tourist footfall in the area.

The IMD has predicted light to moderate rains in low, middle and high hills on October 1 and dry weather from October 2 onwards.

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