Shimla, Jan 1 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh saw a bright, sunny but bone-chilling New Year’s day – thanks to widespread snowfall in the mid and high hills over the last three days.
Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest in the state, a weather department official said.
‘Keylong recorded a low of minus 9.7 degrees Celsius. It was the season’s lowest low,’ the meteorological office’s director Manmohan Singh told IANS.
Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a night temperature of minus 8.5 degrees.
Keylong and Kalpa Friday saw the night temperature at minus 2.7 degrees and minus 3.5 degrees respectively.
The minimum temperature in Shimla slipped further after Friday’s snowfall. It recorded a low temperature of minus 0.8 degree against Friday’s 0.1 degree.
Shimla’s commercial centres – the Mall Road, the historic Ridge, the US Club and the Jakhu Hills – had received around 15 cm of snowfall.
Hill stations near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda had significant snowfall from 80 cm to 100 cm in the past three days.
Likewise, popular tourist destination Manali recorded 56 cm of snow, whereas the majestic Rohtang Pass, 52 km from Manali, experienced 118 cm of snow.
Most of the places in the state witnessed a bright sunny day Saturday.
According to the Met office, weather would mainly remain dry in the next few days as the western disturbances – storm systems originating from Caspian Sea in Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region – have almost retreated.
