Snowbound Manali Shivers at 0.2 Degrees Celsius; More Snowfall in Store in Himachal

SHIMLA:
An intense cold wave continued on Saturday with most parts of Himachal Pradesh shivering with snow-marooned Manali at 0.2 degree Celsius, while the Met office forecast “chances of more rainfall and snowfall in the state till December 29.”

The western disturbances — storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region — will be active in the region for the next 24 hours, a Met Office official said.

In the next 24 hours, light to moderate rain/snowfall is likely at many places and heavy rain/snowfall at some places over Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Mandi, Kinnaur, Shimla and in Sirmaur.

He said light to moderate rain or snowfall is likely at many places with heavy precipitation at some places over Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Mandi, Kinnaur, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Narkanda, Kufri and Manali, located in mid-hills, may witness more snowfall, the weatherman added.

Shimla, which saw a low of 1.2 degrees Celsius, had received 20.2 mm rain, while its neigbouring hill destinations Kufri and Narkanda had plentiful snow.

Manali in Kullu district, about 250-km from here, is also wrapped under a blanket of snow.

Picturesque Kalpa in Kinnaur district was the coldest place in the state at minus 2.5 degrees Celsius with 23 cms of snow. It was 5.9 degrees in Dharamsala town.

Those in the hospitality industry are happy as they are expecting a record footfall on New Year’s Eve owing to chances of more snow.

“Snowfall is always an added attraction for our guests,” remarked a hotelier in Shimla, adding, “We are getting enquiries about the chances of snowfall on December 31”.

A day earlier, heavy snowfall in the Lahaul valley and upper Manali region caused a major traffic disruption on the Manali-Leh highway.

Reports said more than 1,000 vehicles, largely of the tourists, got stuck in the Solang Nala of Kullu district.

According to Kullu Police, there were about 5,000 tourists struck in their vehicles.

“All the vehicles and tourists have been rescued and taken to safe places,” it said.

An update by the Lahaul and Spiti police on Saturday said it “has been snowing in Sissu and the road to Sissu (from Manali) is closed owing to accumulation of over three-feet of snow.”