Manali, Kalpa in Himachal get more snow

Shimla, Feb 25 (IANS) The picturesque tourist resorts Manali and Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh Wednesday saw more snow which lent the resorts and its neighbouring areas a more beautiful look.

The minimum temperature recorded at Kalpa, some 250 km from the state capital, was minus 4 degrees Celsius with 11 cm snow, the weather office here said.

Manali saw 3 cm snow and recorded minus 1.2 degrees Celsius temperature.

The state capital Shimla experienced 16.4 mm rain and a low temperature of 6.8 degrees Celsius.

The high hills in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla and Chamba districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snowfall since early Wednesday, said a weather department official.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district saw a low of minus 1.7 degrees Celsius while it was 8.6 degree Celsius in Dharamsala. These towns saw 38 cm snow and 12.6 mm rain.

Rain lashed the lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, lowering maximum and minimum temperatures by one to two degrees.

Tourist resort Dalhousie in Chamba district saw 62 mm rain, highest in the state.

The Met department said western disturbance -- a storm system originating from the Mediterranean-Caspian Sea region and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- would remain active in the region till March 1.