Fresh snowfall in higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh

Most of the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh, including tourist hotspots Shimla, Manali, Kufri and Dalhousie, received fresh snowfall on Tuesday, the Meteorological (Met) Department said.

Even as the snowfall brought much cheer among tourists, nearly 100 roads were blocked in the entire state. The coldest place in the state was Keylong at minus 7 degrees Celsius.

The Public Works Department was making all efforts to clear the roads, officials said.

Kufri in Shimla district received 20 cm snowfall between 5.30 pm Monday and 8.30 am Tuesday, followed by Lahaul-Spiti's administrative centre Keylong (15.3 cm), Kalpa in Kinnaur district (15.2 cm), Dalhousie in Chamba district (15 cm), Shimla (14 cm) and Manali in Kullu district (8 cm), Shimla Met Centre Director Manmohan Singh said.

This was the second snowfall of 2020 in Shimla and the third of the season.

Kothi received 45 cm snow, Khadrala 17.5 cm, Pooh 10 cm, Gondla 8 cm, Theog 7 cm and Sarahan 4 cm, he added.

Most of the other parts of the state received light to moderate rain. Shimla, Manali, Dalhousie, Kufri, Keylong and Kalpa witnessed sub-zero temperatures.

The minimum temperature in Kalpa was minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, Kufri minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, Manali minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, Dalhousie minus 0.9 degree Celsius and Shimla minus 0.1 degree Celsius.