Rain brings down mercury sharply in Himachal

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Temperatures across Himachal Pradesh fell sharply on Wednesday due to widespread overnight rains, with Shimla recording a low of 11.3 degrees Celsius against Tuesday's minimum of 20.9 degrees Celsius.

"The entire state saw light to moderate rains with minimum temperatures falling sharply by six to nine degrees," Manmohan Singh, director of the Meteorological Office here, told IANS.

He said the maximum temperature since Tuesday dropped by two to three degrees in the state.

Rains lashed most tourist destinations including Dharamsala, Palampur, Manali, Kasauli, Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Chamba and Dalhousie. In Shimla city, several trees and electrical poles were uprooted owing to storm accompanying rain.

Kalpa, a picturesque town 250 km from here, recorded a minimum temperature of 8.6 degrees Celsius whereas the maximum was 13 degrees.

The minimum was 14.2 degrees in Dharamsala and nine degrees Celsius in Manali. The maximum in Dharamsala stayed at 27.2 degrees.

The state capital saw a high of 22.3 degrees Celsius, a fall of five degrees from Tuesday's.

Una was hottest place in the state at 34 degrees Celsius, while Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was coldest at 6.2 degrees.

The Met department has forecast widespread rains and thundershowers in the state till Thursday.

--IANS

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