Bright sunny day in Himachal

SHIMLA - After three days of moderate to heavy snowfall, the hills of Himachal Pradesh Saturday woke up to a bright sunny morning but with extreme cold climatic conditions.

“Most of the areas in the state witnessed a bright sunny morning after days of snowfall and rain,” Meteorological Office Director Manmohan Singh here told IANS.

He said the 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.

However, party revellers have three to four days to enjoy the snowy landscape of Shimla before the snow melts.

“The snow will stay for three to four days in the town as the temperature has plummeted sharply after the rains and the snow,” he said.

Shimla recorded a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius Saturday, whereas the maximum was 4.4 degrees Celsius Friday.

The town’s commercial centres - the Mall Road, the historic Ridge, the US Club and the Jakhu Hills - received around 15 cm of snowfall, whereas the lower areas in the town like Khalini, Kasumpti and New Shimla saw only snowflakes and sleet.

However, hill stations near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda had significant snowfall from 80 cm to 100 cm in the past three days.

Popular tourist destination Manali recorded 56 cm of snow, whereas the majestic Rohtang Pass, 52 km from Manali, experienced 118 cm of snow.

Rashmi Seghal, a tourist in Shimla, said: “Nature is remarkable. Yesterday (Friday) we enjoyed spells of snow and now we are enjoying mellow sunshine.”

Meanwhile, over 100 tourists from West Bengal, mostly from Kolkata, are still stranded in picturesque Kalpa, 250 km from state capital in Kinnaur district, after the roads were closed due to heavy snowfall.

“Work is on to reopen the roads,” subdivisional magistrate Naresh Thakur told IANS on phone.

Kalpa recorded more than 60 cm of snow in the last 24 hours.