Heavy rainfall in Shimla

Shimla, popularly known as Queen of Hills, experienced 95 mm rain, the highest in Himachal Pradesh Wednesday, the weather bureau here.

"With the arrival of the monsoon (yesterday) Tuesday, the entire state has been experiencing moderate to heavy rain," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

He said the maximum temperatures across the state fell by one to two degrees. However, there was no appreciable change in the minimum temperature.

Manmohan Singh said most of the prominent tourist destinations like Dharamsala, Palampur, Manali, Kasauli, Kufri, Narkanda, Chamba and Dalhousie witnessed rainfall, bringing down temperatures to comfortable levels.

Shimla, a favourite retreat for tourists during summer, recorded a low of 15 degrees Celsius, while it was 13.6 degrees in another picturesque resort Manali and 19.4 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala.

"There are chances of heavy spells of rain in the state till Thursday," he added.

Solan town got 94 mm till 8.30 a.m., the second highest in the state, while Bilaspur and Dharamsala towns recorded 56 mm and 43.8 mm rain, respectively.

Manali got just 8 mm rain.