Kalpa, hills near Manali wrapped in white blanket

Himachal Pradesh's tourist destination Kalpa and hills overlooking Manali received more snow on Thursday, and the Met Office forecast widespread rain and snow till February 15.

Residents and tourists have been advised not to venture in the high hills owing to avalanche warning by Manali-based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment.

While Manali saw mild rains, its nearby places like Solang and Kothi received snow, according to a Met official here.

Shimla has been experiencing cloudy skies with chances of rain or snow later in the day.

The state capital saw a minimum temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 3.2 degrees in Manali, 6.4 degrees in Dharamsala, 3 degrees in Kufri and 4.9 degrees in Dalhousie.

"The higher reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur and Chamba districts have been experiencing snow since Thursday night, while mid and lower hills have been experiencing rain," the official said.

Kalpa, some 250 km from here, in Kinnaur district, and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti have experienced two cm and 16 cm snowfall, respectively.

The western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- are likely to remain active in the region till February 16.

High hills are likely to experience "fairly widespread to widespread" snowfall while hailstorm is likely in the low hills till February 15, said the official.

--IANS

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