Cold intensifies its grip across Himachal

After days of dry weather, cold intensified its grip across Himachal Pradesh on Monday with the higher reaches receiving fresh snowfall. The weather bureau also warned of some heavy spells of snow and rain that were likely to hit the state till Wednesday.

The temperature remained near freezing point at many places after an overnight spell of snow and rain, a Met official here told IANS. The state capital, which saw cloudy skies, saw a low of 6.9 degrees Celsius, while Kalpa, some 250 km from here, experienced 1.2 cm of snow, the official said. Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti district, saw eight cm of snow. Keylong recorded minus 3.2 degree Celsius, while it was minus 1.2 in Kalpa, 1.6 in Manali, 2.2 in Dalhousie, 3.1 in Kufri and 5.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

Picturesque tourist resort Manali saw four mm rain but its nearby hills like the Solang ski slopes, Kothi, Gulaba and the Rohtang Pass, 52 km from Manali, have been experiencing snow. "The high hills of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla and Chamba districts have been experiencing light to moderate snowfall," said the weather official. He said moderate to heavy snowfall may occur across the state over the next two day. People in the area and tourists have been advised not to venture in the high hills. Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Dalhousie and Manali are likely to have moderate spells of snowfall, he added.

(With inputs from agencies.)