Fresh snowfall disrupts normal life in Lahaul-Spiti, over 140 roads closed

Orange alert issued for hailstorms, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla

Fresh rain and snowfall in the high-altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district disrupted normal life, with over 140 roads blocked across the district on Sunday.

Residents of Tholang village clear snow from their house roofs as the weather improves after fresh snowfall in Lahaul and Spiti on Sunday. (ANI)

According to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Lahaul-Spiti, among the roads shut due to snowfall were the Darcha–Shinkula Pass route. The Rohtang Pass–Koksar stretch also remained closed, along with the Darcha–Sarchu and Lossar–Batal roads.

According to the India meteorological department (IMD), Gondhla in Lahaul-Spiti recorded the highest snowfall of 28.5 cm in the last 24 hours, followed by 20 cm in Keylong, 5 cm in Hansa and 1.3 cm in Kukumseri.

Already on Saturday, the Lahaul-Spiti police had issued a travel advisory, advising tourists to return towards safer locations, including Manali.

In terms of rainfall, Jot in Chamba district recorded the highest at 3 cm, followed by Gondhla (3 cm), Sarahan (2 cm), Keylong (2 cm), Sundernagar (2 cm), Dharamshala (2 cm), Manali (2 cm), Gohar (1 cm), Kukumseri (1 cm), Baldwara (1 cm), Shimla (1 cm), Sangla (1 cm), Palampur (1 cm) and Kasauli (1 cm).

The India meteorological department (IMD) office in Shimla has forecast that rain and snowfall will continue across Himachal Pradesh till April 11. According to the IMD, light to moderate rain and snowfall are likely at most places in the state on April 7 and 8. Similar weather is expected at a few places on April 6 and 9, while light precipitation is likely at isolated locations on April 10 and 11.

For April 7, the weather office has issued an orange alert for hailstorms, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts. A similar alert has also been issued for April 8 in these districts, except Chamba.

Meanwhile, no significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over the state during the next four to five days. Maximum temperatures are likely to rise appreciably by 3–5°C over the next 48 hours, followed by a fall of 3–5°C over the subsequent two to three days.