Snow to add to Himachal’s New Year’s Eve festivities

SHIMLA - There is good news for winter revellers. The Met department Sunday predicted that Shimla and other popular hill destinations of Himachal Pradesh are likely to witness mild to moderate spells of snow, adding to the New Year’s Eve festivities.

This has brought cheer to the state’s hospitality industry and the hope that Shimla will witness a white New Year’s Eve after eight years.

“The western disturbances are approaching and these are likely to bring snow in the high hills of the state,” meteorological department director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

He said the western disturbances - storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - likely to be active Dec 29 and would be aggressive by New Years Eve.

The higher reaches in Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts would get a fresh blanket of snow, he added.

According to him, even Shimla’s neighbouring hills like Kufri, Fagu, Narkanda and Manali, are likely to get snow.

The temperature is quite congenial for snow. A brief spell of rain would increase the moisture content that can trigger snow-like conditions. If the western disturbances remain active for a few days together, snow would veil Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie and other tourist spots, the Met director said.

Shimla, known for the imperial grandeur of buildings that were once institutions of power when it was the summer capital of British India, has remained devoid of any prominent snow cover in recent times. This year too there is hardly any snowfall so far.

Besides one mild spell of snow (8.2 cm) Jan 13, 2010, there was no snow at all in Shimla last winter.

However, Shimlas nearby tourist destinations like Kufri and Narkanda had good spells of snowfall.

Likewise, in 2009 the town saw just two mild spells of snowfall and those flakes too melted within few hours.

Shimla experienced snowfall on the last day of the year in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2002.

Snow is the biggest driving force for the tourists, said Vijay Sharma, assistant general manager of Holiday Home Hotel here, a government-run venture.

We are keeping fingers crossed. If there is snow on New Years Eve, the footfall is likely to cross the 50,000-mark in Shimla alone on a single day, said D.P. Bhatia, general manager of Clarkes Hotel in Shimla.

Manali, the popular tourist resort in Kullu valley, about 250 km from state capital Shimla, experienced its first spell of snow Oct 22.

The Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet) located 51 km from Manali and Baralacha Pass (16,020 ft) have already had heavy snowfall.

Meanwhile, a cold wave continued to grip the higher reaches of state Sunday with Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti recording the lowest minimum temperature of minus 8.2 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 2, while it was 0.9 at Bhuntar in Kullu district, 4.3 at Dharamsala in Kangra district and 3 degrees in Shimla town, a met office release said.