E-Paper
Cold wave alert in Himachal; rain, snowfall likely in higher reaches
The India meteorological department’s (IMD) Shimla office has forecast spells of heavy rain and snowfall in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh on January 23.
The India meteorological department’s (IMD) Shimla office has forecast spells of heavy rain and snowfall in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh on January 23.
Meteorological officials said that two western disturbances, arriving in quick succession, are likely to affect northwest India from January 19 and 21.
The IMD has issued a cold wave alert for January 19 and 20 in isolated pockets of Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra and Mandi districts.
The weather office stated that light rain or snowfall is likely at isolated places in the high hill areas from January 18 to 20. Light to moderate rain or snowfall is expected at a few places in the mid and high hill areas on January 22, and at most places across the state on January 23 and 24.
According to the IMD, no significant change is expected in minimum and maximum temperatures over the next three to four days. Thereafter, minimum temperatures are likely to rise by around 2–3 degrees Celsius over many parts of the mid and high hills and some parts of the plains. Meanwhile, maximum temperatures are expected to fall by about 4–6 degrees Celsius across many parts of the state during the subsequent three days.
Very light to light precipitation was recorded at isolated places across the state during the past 24 hours. Trace snowfall was reported in Koksar, while 2.5 cm of snowfall was recorded at Hansa in the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti.
No significant change was observed in minimum and maximum temperatures during the last 24 hours. Minimum temperatures at a few stations were below normal by 2–3 degrees Celsius, while isolated stations recorded temperatures above normal by a similar margin. The lowest minimum temperature on Sunday was recorded at Kukumseri in Lahaul-Spiti, which dipped to minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.
During the past 24 hours, cold wave conditions were observed in Hamirpur, Una and Mandi districts, while a severe cold wave was recorded in Berthin.
