Manali-Leh highway closed due to fresh snowfall in Lahaul
HIGHER REACHES OF CHAMBA, KINNAUR, SHIMLA, KULLU, LAHAUL AND SPITI EXPERIENCED MILD TO MODERATE SNOWFALL
SHIMLA : The Manali-Leh highway was blocked due to fresh snowfall on Wednesday with the road beyond Atal Tunnel beneath the Rohtang Pass closed for traffic.
“There is one feet snow on the road beyond Atal Tunnel, so it had to be closed for traffic,” said Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh.
The higher reaches of Chamba, Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti experienced mild to moderate snowfall.
The tourist resort of Narkanda, 60km from Shimla, also got fresh snowfall.
The temperature came down by several degrees after the overnight rain and snow.
Keylong, the administrative headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti district, experienced 12cm of snowfall and was the coldest place in the state at -0.3 degree Celsius on Wednesday.
Kinnaur’s Kalpa got 11.4cm of snowfall and recorded a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius.
Shimla Meteorological Centre director Manmohan Singh said the minimum temperatures dropped by 1-2 degrees since Tuesday and were three degrees below normal.
Manali experienced the maximum rainfall of 43mm followed by Kasauli 15mm, Mandi 14.3mm, Bilaspur 14.2mm, Kufri 14mm, Dalhousie 13mm, Dharamshala 12.6mm, Palampur 11.4mm and Kalpa 10.2mm, respectively. The minimum temperature at Dharamshala was 9.6 degrees, while in Palampur it was 10.5 degrees Celsius. State capital Shimla recorded a low of 7.4 degrees and Dalhousie 5.6 degrees Celsius. The meteorological department has forecast wet weather till April 23. A yellow weather warning of thunderstorm, lightning and hailstorm accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 km per hour was issued for the middle and low hills that includes nine of the state’s 12 districts.