High-altitude Himachal lakes begin to freeze

SHIMLA - Most of the high-altitude lakes in Himachal Pradesh have started to freeze as the recent snowfall has sharply brought down the temperature, the weather department said here Wednesday.

In the high-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba and Kullu districts, the night temperature has been below the freezing point, said meteorological office director Manmohan Singh.

“The high hills are registering the night temperature two to three degrees below the average for this time of the year,” he said.

The Chandertal, Surajtal and Manimahesh lakes have started freezing with the appearance of a thick sheet of ice.

While the oval-shaped Manimahesh lake is located in Chamba district, Chandertal or Moon Lake and Surajtal or Sun Lake are in Lahaul and Spiti district.

Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, Wednesday recorded a low of 1.7 degrees Celsius, while it was 1.5 degrees in Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

Sher Singh, an official posted at Keylong, told IANS on phone that in some areas of the district the minimum temperature plummets even more than minus 10 degrees.

The Rohtang Pass located at the height of 13,050 feet and the Baralacha Pass at 16,020 feet on the Manali-Leh highway experienced heavy snow Oct 22.

However, Shimla and its surrounding areas have been experiencing sunny days but the nights were cool. The town recorded a low of 8.8 degrees Wednesday.