Shimla gets mild snowfall

The Himachal Pradesh capital witnessed the season's second snowfall on Thursday, pushing down the mercury by several notches.

"Shimla and its nearby areas received intermittent mild snow along with rain in the afternoon," an official of the meteorological office told IANS here.

As news of the snowfall flashed across the plains, tourists started arriving at Shimla and its nearby hills. However, in Shimla, the snow melted within few hours.

The hills of another picturesque tourist resort Manali, some 300 km from Shimla, also experienced snow.

The official said high-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba and Kullu experienced moderate snow.

The Met has forecast more rain and snow across the state till Friday.

The minimum temperature in Shimla was five degree Celsius, whereas the maximum was 12 degrees.

Keylong, district headquarters town of Lahaul-Spiti, was the coldest in the state at a minimum temperature of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus one degree, while the minimum temperature was one degree degrees in Manali, 6.8 degrees in Dharamsala and 1.2 degrees in Dalhousie.