Queen of Hills Shimla and its nearby tourist areas on Saturday received the season’s first snowfall, while the lower hills across Himachal Pradesh were lashed by rain, bringing the temperature down by several notches.
Hoteliers cheered up with the timely snowfall in the hope that tourists will come in large numbers this weekend. Tourist spots near Shimla, such as honeymooners’ paradise Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda also experienced mild snowfall, turning the hill stations even more picturesque.
Hills near Manali and Kinnaur also witnessed snowfall. The minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded at 3.2 degrees Celsius. Keylong in lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the State at minus 3 degrees Celsius below freezing. It was 7.4 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala, minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in Kalpa and 1.6 degrees Celsius in Manali.
Meanwhile light showers lashed Punjab and Haryana along with their joint capital Chandigarh. This was the first winter showers this year, breaking the dry spell of winter in the region.Several places in the two states, including Chandigarh, Phagwara, Hisar and Bhiwani, received light rainfall due to western disturbances, the MeT department here said.“Parts of the region had first showers of the winter season today,” it said, adding that cold wave has intensified in the region due to this.
According to experts, the light showers will reduce risks of diseases related with dry winter and will settle the dust and cleanse the hazy space, reducing air pollution. The rains will also benefit the wheat crop, they added. Chandigarh received light showers whereas Ambala was drenched by one mm of rains.The MeT department has predicted the possibility of more rains in the region in the next 24 hours.