By IANS,
Shimla : A day after moderate snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, the state saw a bright, sunny Tuesday morning. But it followed a bone-chilling night.
The picturesque tourist resort of Manali in Kullu district saw a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius early Tuesday, the season’s lowest.
The night temperature of Manali fell by 5.6 degrees from Monday’s minus 1.4 degrees. “It was for the first time the night temperature of Manali nose-dived so massively,” a weather official here said.
Shimla, which saw 0.8 cm of snow till Tuesday morning, saw a night temperature of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius.
The state capital recorded 24.6 cm of snow Monday while other parts of Shimla district, especially the upper reaches, experienced heavy snowfall.
Vehicular traffic was partially restored Tuesday in upper Shimla.
Popular tourist spots near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda also saw good spells of snow. Kasauli tourist resort in Solan district also received mild snowfall Monday.
However, water in the taps in residential areas located in Shimla’s US Club and Jakhu hills remained frozen on the second day due to the extreme cold.
Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw the night temperature at minus 9.3 degrees Celsius, while it was 2.1 degrees in Dharamsala. Kalpa, which saw 3 cm of snow, recorded a low of minus 4.5 degrees Monday.
According to the Met office, the weather would mainly remain dry in the next few days as western disturbances – storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea in Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region – have almost retreated.