Himachal slightly warmer, snow in store

The hills of Himachal Pradesh saw a rise in the temperature due to long sunny days, but the Met Office on Wednesday forecast chances of rain and snowfall this weekend.

"There are chances of rainfall and snowfall in the state from December 23," an official at the Met office told IANS.

He said the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- would be active again in the region.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie were witnessing long sunny days, he said.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius.

Shimla recorded the minimum temperature at 10.6 degrees Celsius, whereas Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of one degree.

It was 4.2 degrees Celsius in Manali, 9.1 degrees in Dalhousie and 8.6 degrees in Dharamsala, where Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama lives.

--IANS

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