Snowfall keeps Mercury below Freezing in Himachal

Shimla, Jan 22 (IANS) More snowfall in the picturesque tourist resorts of Manali and Kalpa and the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh Thursday kept the temperatures below freezing point, a weatherman said here Thursday.

However, there was widespread rainfall in the low and mid hills, said an official.

The chill would extend over the weekend as snow and thundershowers would continue in the state till Friday, a weather department official told IANS.

The minimum temperature in Shimla, which received 4.6 mm rain, was recorded at minus 0.2 degree Celsius.

Popular tourist resort Manali, which received 13 cm snow and 20 mm rain, recorded the night temperature at minus 1.4 degrees Celsius.

Shimla's nearby tourist spots Kufri and Narkanda also received fresh spell of snowfall.

Kalpa, around 250 km from the state capital, which received 19.1 cm snow, saw a minimum temperature of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, while it was 5.4 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala, which received 23.2 mm of rain.

Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, received 32 cm snow and recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius.

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

The government has advised the local residents and tourists not to venture out in the high hills of Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts as chances of heavy snowfall and avalanches are high till Friday.

Even the snow-bound areas near the tourist resort of Manali like Solang, Beas Kund, Nehru Kund and Kothi have been declared avalanche-prone.