Cold wave tightens grip on Himachal Pradesh on Christmas

The cold wave tightened its grip on Himachal Pradesh on Christmas, with the mercury plunging to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius in Keylong and popular tourist destination Manali reeling at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius from 5.30 pm on Monday to 8.30 am Tuesday. Kalpa, Solan, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Seobagh also witnessed sub-zero temperatures during the period, Meteorological Centre, Shimla, Director Manmohan Singh said.

Keylong, the administrative centre of the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district, was the coldest place in the state, he said. The minimum temperature in Kalpa was recorded at minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, Seobagh at minus 1.7 degrees Celsius, Bhuntar at minus 1 degree Celsius, Sundernagar at minus 0.7 degree Celsius and Solan at minus 0.4 degree Celsius, Singh added. The minimum temperature in state capital Shimla was 1.7 degrees Celsius during the period. Similarly, the minimum in Kufri remained at 0.8 degree Celsius and in Dalhousie, at 1.1 degrees Celsius, he said.