Clouds hover over Himachal, mercury rises

After days of sunny weather, the hills of Himachal Pradesh Sunday witnessed cloudy conditions and rise in the night temperatures. The Met Office has forecast rain and snow in the state from Jan 14.

"There are chances of rain and snow in most parts of the state between Jan 14 and 15," an official of the Indian Meteorological Department here told IANS.

He said the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- would remain active in the region till Jan 16.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie may get more snowfall, the official added.

Meanwhile, the night temperatures in most places across the state rose. The Met Office attributed this to cloudy conditions.

The state capital recorded a low of 10.8 degrees Celsius, a substantial rise from Saturday's 6 degrees.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at the minimum of 7.9 degrees Celsius below the freezing point.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of minus 1.4 degrees, while it was 1.4 degrees above the freezing point in Manali, 9.9 degrees in Dalhousie, 3.3 degrees in Chamba and 4.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

These towns Saturday experienced the night temperature at minus 3.4 degrees, minus 1.8 degrees, 8.3 degrees, 0.9 degree and 4.4 degrees Celsius respectively.