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India - Shimla has its first snowfall of season

Updated - 5/1/2009 - IANS.

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Himachal Pradesh’s popular tourist towns Shimla and Dalhousie experienced the first snowfall of the season, while the lower hills across the state were lashed by rains Sunday.

"Shimla and Dalhousie received snowfall early this morning. This is the first snowfall of the season in these towns," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office, told IANS.

He said while the picturesque Jakhu hills, the Mall commercial centre, the historic Ridge and the US Club in Shimla received about 2.5 centimetres of snow, Dalhousie in Chamba district had three centimetres of snow.

"Three to four inches of snowfall was also recorded at famous tourist spots Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda in Shimla district," Singh said.

Due to the snowfall, the minimum temperature in Shimla plummeted to 1.7 degrees Celsius from Saturday’s 5.7 degrees.

However, the movement of traffic on all vital roads was smooth, official sources said.

According to Singh, there were remote chances of snowfall in Shimla and nearby areas in the next 24 hours.

Fresh snowfall was also reported from higher reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba and Kullu districts.

Keylong was the coldest place in the hill state with minus 7.1 degrees Celsius followed by Kalpa at minus 3.6.

Kalpa experienced 5.2 centimetres of snow, while Keylong recorded three centimetres of snowfall.

Similarly, Hatu Peak and Khara Pather of Shimla district, the Dhauladhars range of Kangra district, Pangi and Tessa ranges of Chamba district, and Shrikhand Kailash of Kinnaur too received more snow.

Lower areas of the hill state witnessed light rain.

Popular tourist destination Manali too experienced rainfall.

According to the meteorological office, Sundernagar recorded 2.1 mm of rainfall, Bhuntar 7.3 mm and Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, recorded 4.8 mm rainfall.

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