Shimla, Dec 29 (IANS) The continuing cold wave of the past few days tightened its grip on the hills of Himachal Pradesh Thursday despite prolonged dry spell.

Except Shimla, most parts of Himachal Pradesh saw temperatures slipping to sub-zero levels, the Met Office here said.

Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest town in the state at minus 6.8 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 4 degrees, while the temperature was minus 1.6 degrees in Manali and minus 0.2 degree at Solan town, said a statement from the meteorological department.

Shimla was slightly comfortable with a minimum temperature of 3.6 degrees Celsius, a fall from Wednesday’s 4.6 degrees. However, the day temperature in the town was 14.8 degrees Celsius.

The weather office forecast the state would not see any snow till New Year’s Eve, putting a dampner on the revellers’ hopes for a white launch for the New Year.