Mercury dips in Himachal after fresh snow

The high hills of Himachal Pradesh received fresh snowfall Saturday, pushing down the temperatures.

While Shimla saw a light spell of rainfall, nearby Kufri and Narkanda experienced mild snowfall, according to a Met official here. Manali received rain.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts experienced moderate to heavy snow early Saturday," the official said.

Bharmour in Chamba district, which recorded 30 cm of snow, was the coldest place in the state with a low of 8.1 degrees Celsius below freezing point.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district saw 12 cm of snow, while it was 5 cm snow in Kalpa in Kinnaur district. These towns recorded the minimum temperature at minus 5.4 degrees and minus 1.8 degrees respectively.

Shimla recorded a low of 2.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 6.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

The Met department's forecast said the western disturbances - storm systems originating from Caspian Sea in the Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - have started receding from the region.