Shimla gets season’s first snowfall, tourists rejoice

Shimla, January 23

After much delay, the Himachal Pradesh capital on Tuesday experienced the season's first snowfall, leading to a surge of tourists to savour the snow-covered landscape.

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"Shimla and its nearby areas have been experiencing snowfall and this was the season's first snowfall in Shimla town," an official of the Meteorological Department here told IANS.

Places near to Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda have also been experiencing snowfall, turning the tourist destinations more picturesque.

As news of the snowfall spread, tourists flocked to Shimla, known for the imperial grandeur of its buildings that were once institutions of power when the town served as the summer capital of British India.

"It's for the first time that we witnessed the snowfall. We are thankful to the rain god for this," said Ashima Khanna, a tourist from Chandigarh, who was in Shimla along with her friends.

Shimla, which saw a low of 2.7 degrees Celsius, recorded mild snowfall, while Kufri and Mashobra recorded moderate snowfall. The day's temperature in Shimla stayed at 12.2 degrees.

The snowy landscape in Shimla would stay for one-two days, an official of the Met Office said.

Reports said some of the areas in apple belt Jubbal and Kharapathar also experienced snow.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate snow," the official said.

Manali, which remained cloudy, experienced a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius, while it was 6.6 degrees in Dharamsala.

The majestic Dhauladhar ranges in the Kangra valley got a fresh blanket of snow cover.

Kalpa, some 250 km from the state capital and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district also experienced snow. These towns saw the night temperature fall to minus two degrees and minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi towns received rain, bringing down the temperature considerably.

The Met Office has forecast that scattered rain or snow is likely in the state till Wednesday.

After the opening of the skies, the minimum temperature across the state could plummet by three to four notches, a weatherman said. — IANS