Himachal Capital Shimla and its nearby tourist spots like Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda, Manali and Dalhousie may experience snow on New Year's Eve or later, Met department officials said on Monday
Shimla and its nearby destinations, Manali and Dalhousie had experienced season's first snowfall on December 12. And thereafter there was no snowfall.
An official said that there was chance of snow or rain across the state between December 31 and January 2.
Meanwhile. large parts of Himachal Pradesh reeled under severe cold on Monday, with the minimum temperature staying below freezing point.
Shimla saw the rise in the night temperature at 3.6 degrees Celsius owing to cloudy conditions. It saw a low of 2.8 degrees a day earlier. Popular destination Manali recorded a low of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius.
Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was the coldest in the state with a low of 11.8 degrees below freezing point.
Kalpa, some 250 km from here in Kinnaur district, saw the minimum temperature at minus 2 degrees Celsius, while it was 2 degrees in Dharamsala and 4.2 degrees in Dalhousie.
HARYANA AND PUNJAB SHIVER
Haryana and Punjab remained under the grip of severe cold wave with temperatures hovering well below normal limits on Monday.
Fog also continued to engulf most places in Haryana and Punjab, reducing visibility levels in the morning.
Faridkot in Punjab was the coldest place in the state, recording a minimum temperature of 0.7 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal limits. Among other places in Punjab, freezing cold swept Amritsar, which recorded a low of 1.2 deg C, Ludhiana, Patiala and Gurdaspur recorded near similar below normal minimums at 4.6, 4.5 and 4.2 degrees Celsius. Halwara braved the chill at a low of 1.5 deg C. Bathinda experienced a cold night at 3.8 deg C while Pathankot''s minimum settled at 3.4 deg C, a Meteorological Department official said here.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, was also under the grip of biting chill. The minimum here settled at 3.5 deg C.
In Haryana, Rohtak was the coldest place recording a low of 1.2 deg C. Ambala, Hisar, Karnal, Narnaul, Bhiwani and Sirsa were also swept by piercing chill recording respective lows of 2.7 deg C, 3.6 deg C, 2.8 deg C, 1.5 deg C, 2.8 deg C and 2.7 degrees Celsius.
The maximum temperatures in the two states including Chandigarh have for the last over a week hovered several notches below normal and settling in the range of 8-12 degrees Celsius.
