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Light snow in higher reaches of Himachal brings cheer to tourists, locals
Amid dense cloud cover, intermittent snowfall in the higher reaches of the district added a chill to the atmosphere. Following the fresh snowfall, severe cold gripped the higher reaches of the state
Parts of the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh received light snowfall on Wednesday, bringing cheer to both tourists and locals.
Amid dense cloud cover, intermittent snowfall in the higher reaches of the district added a chill to the atmosphere. Following the fresh snowfall, severe cold gripped the higher reaches of the state. India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Shimla office on Wednesday said that very light precipitation was observed at isolated places over the high hills of the state during the past 24 hours.
MeT department officials said that trace snowfall was recorded in Kukumseri in Lahaul-Spiti. Light snowfall also occurred in Koksar, Shinkula, Zanskar-Sumdo, Atal tunnel area and Rohtang.
The snowfall also delighted tourists who had arrived from different areas to experience the wintry conditions. IMD had predicted light to moderate rain and snowfall at a few places in the state on December 31. Moreover, light to moderate rain and snowfall is likely at many places on January 1 and at isolated places on January 2, 5 and 6.
Mercury to dip
MeT department officials said that the minimum temperatures are very likely to fall by about 4-7 degrees in many parts of the mid hill and high hill regions of the state and by about 3-5 degrees over many parts of plain areas during the next 2 days. Moreover, the maximum temperatures are very likely to gradually fall by about 3-5 degrees over many parts of the state during the next 3-4 days.
On Wednesday, the lowest minimum temperature was recorded in Lahaul-Spiti’s Kukumseri at -3.4 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperatures were above normal by 2-5 degrees at most of the stations, and they were normal or near normal at isolated stations.
For January 1, the IMD has sounded a cold wave alert over isolated pockets in Hamirpur, Kangra and Sirmaur districts, while an alert for Cold Day conditions has also been sounded over isolated pockets in Una, Kullu and Mandi district. On January 2, a Cold wave alert was sounded in Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts.
Fresh snowfall blankets Kashmir’s higher reaches
Fresh snowfall blanketed several areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir with the meteorological department forecasting light to moderate precipitation at most places over the next 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday.
Owing to a cloud cover, the night temperatures remained higher than the seasonal average and settled above the freezing point at most places, the officials said. Despite the fresh snow, the valley continues to experience an unusually warm winter, with temperatures remaining three to seven degrees above the seasonal average, the MeT officials said. They said parts of North Kashmir, including Gurez in Bandipora, Gulmarg in Baramulla and Macchil in Kupwara, experienced fresh snowfall, with reports of light to moderate snowfall in higher reaches as well.
The MeT office has said there is a possibility of light to moderate rain/snow at most places during Wednesday night to Thursday forenoon.
A few higher reaches/extreme higher reaches of north and central Kashmir may receive moderate to heavy snowfall, it added. There is a possibility of a brief spell of light rain/snow over isolated places on Friday as well, it said.
On Tuesday night, Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.3 degrees Celsius, which is 4.9 degrees Celsius above the normal for this time of year, they said.
Gulmarg remained the coldest location in the region with the mercury settling at -3.0 degrees Celsius, officials said.
The night temperature remained almost three degrees above the usual temperature.
In south Kashmir, Pahalgam recorded a low of -1.8 degrees Celsius -- seven degrees above the normal temperature, and Qazigund, the gateway town of the valley, saw the mercury settle at 1.4 degrees Celsius.
With PTI inputs
