SHIMLA: Tourists in
Shimla were delighted by the light snowfall followed by rain and sleet on Thursday, but it caused the closure of over 200 roads in the upper regions of Himachal Pradesh for vehicular traffic.
The snowfall cut off the isolated Dodra Kwar area in Shimla district from the rest of the state, and 177 roads in Lahaul and Spiti, five in Chamba, and two in both Kangra and Kullu were closed to vehicular traffic.
Isolated parts of Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts witnessed light snowfall. Kothi in Kullu received 14 cm of snow followed by Khadrala and Shillaro with 10 and 7.5 cm each. Kufri and Gondla each received 4 cm of snow while Kalpa recorded 3 cm of snowfall.
North India headed for severe cold spell this week, temperature to drop -4 degrees Celsius
The Jakhu hill in the capital town was covered under a thin layer of snow but intermittent rains washed it off.
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It’s biting cold! North India shivers
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<p>The higher reaches of Kashmir received snowfall for the second consecutive day as the night temperature dropped below freezing point across the Valley.</p>
<p>Himachal Pradesh has received fresh snowfall and the higher mountain regions have received moderate snowfall and rainfall, said IMD.</p>
<p>Residential areas seen covered with snow after it witnessed fresh snowfall in Lahaul and Spiti on Thursday.</p>
<p>The IMD has forecasted moderate snowfall during the next two days in the Kinnaur, Chamba, Lahaul -Spiti, Shimla and Kullu districts of the state.</p>
<p>As per IMD after January 14, the weather is expected to remain dry, while a coldwave alert in the lower districts of Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una and Mandi has been sounded in the region.</p>
<p>The higher reaches in Himachal Pradesh during the past 24 hours received fresh snowfall.</p>
<p>Kothi in Kullu district received 15CM snowfall, Hansa in Lahaul-Spiti recorded 9CM fresh snowfall and higher reaches of Shimla district recorded 5 of a fresh snowfall.</p>
<p>Trees and hills were covered in snow and the minimum temperature was recorded at a bone-chilling 1 degree Celsius.</p>
<p>According to a Met forecast, Narkanda is likely to receive light rainfall on January 13 and the mercury might drop to as low as -3 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>The snowfall and the chill dragged the mercury down further to -3 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>The Met department said the temperature is likely to drop to as low as -9 degrees Celsius in a fresh spell of severe cold</p>
<p>Fresh spell of snowfall is expected to bring mercury down in the plains as well in coming days.</p>
<p>Parts of Delhi and neighbouring areas witnessed rain on Thursday night. </p>
<p>The national capital recorded a cold wave spell from January 5 to January 9, the longest in the month in a decade, according to IMD data. </p>
<p>In Rajasthan, Fatehpur in Sikar and Churu recorded minimum temperatures of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius and minus 1.5 degrees Celsius on January 5.</p>
<p>In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 10 degrees Celsius, Patiala 8.4 degrees Celsius, Pathankot 8.5 degrees Celsius, Faridkot 9 degrees Celsius and Muktsar 9.6 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>Devotees take a dip in Amrit Sarovar at Golden temple in Amritsar even as the city witnesses severe cold. </p>
<p>A fresh spell of cold wave in northwest India next week would see mercury dropping by three to five degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday even as the chilly conditions abated slightly in many states providing relief to people.</p>
<p>Western disturbance and consequent stronger surface winds have significantly improved fog conditions over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, and western Uttar Pradesh. </p>
<p>Passengers wait for their train at Prayagraj raiway station. </p>
Keylong in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the state at minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Narkanda at minus 2.8 degrees Celsius, Kalpa at minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, Kufri minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, Dalhousie minus 0.1 degrees Celsius.
Manali and Shimla shivered at 0.4 degrees Celsius and 1.4 degrees Celsius respectively.
The tourism sector in Shimla is hoping that snowfall would lead to tourists making a beeline to the queen of hills during the weekend.
According to the local weather station, light to moderate snowfall in mid and higher hills is predicted on January 13 and rains in lower hills from January 14 to January 18.
A prolonged dry spell in the state has resulted in a 20 to 25 per cent loss to wheat crops and vegetable cultivation in rainfed areas which constitute 75 per cent of the total cultivable land in Himachal Pradesh as the state recorded almost 100 per cent deficit rains in December 2022.
With isolated rains and snow in some places, the rain deficit from January 1 to January 12 has been reduced to 76 per cent as the region received 4.9 mm average rains against the normal rainfall of 22.9 mm.
(With inputs from PTI)Watch Himachal Pradesh: Kullu gets highest snowfall, IMD predicts clear sky for next 3 days
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