Himachal sees cloud but no chance of snow

It was partly cloudy with the cold wave sweeping most parts of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, while the Met office forecast "no chance of rainfall and snowfall in the state till New Year's Eve".

The western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- will be active in the region from January 1, with rain and snow at many places, Manmohan Singh, the Director of the Met Office here, told IANS.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie, located in mid-hills, may witness moderate snowfall on January 1, he added.

Shimla, which saw a low of 5.2 degrees Celsius, had received snow on December 12, like its neighbouring hill destinations Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda. Thereafter, there was no snowfall.

Hills overlooking Manali in Kullu district, about 250 km from here, is still wrapped in a blanket of snow.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at minus 6.8 degree Celsius.

It was minus 1.6 degree in Kalpa, 2.8 degrees in Dharamsala, 3 degrees in Kufri and 5.7 degrees in Dalhousie.

"Temperatures across the state rose marginally since Saturday owing to clouds," the official added.

Those in the hospitality industry are happy as they are expecting a record number of footfalls on New Year's Eve owing to chances of snow on the first day of the next year.

"Snowfall is always an added attraction. Our guests are excited about chances of snow on January 1," D.P. Bhatia, Shimla-based liaison officer with the Oberoi Group of hotels, told IANS.

--IANS

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