Heavy snowfall expected in Himachal Pradesh in next 48 hours, Yellow alert issued

"The coming (next) 48 hours will be extremely cold with heavy snowfall," said Surender Paul, the head of the IMD regional office in Himachal Pradesh.

New Delhi: In view of expected heavy rainfall, a yellow alert has been issued in Himachal Pradesh’s higher hill areas including popular tourist spots like Chamba, Spiti, Kullu, Shimla by the Indian Meteorological Department, ANI reported.

Yellow alert for heavy snowfall has been issued in higher areas of Himachal Pradesh including Chamba, Spiti, Kullu, Shimla. Duration of snowfall was longer in comparison to previous yrs. Coming 48 hrs will be extremely cold with heavy snowfall: Surender Paul, IMD head, HP (02.02) pic.twitter.com/pVehjqe0Hz

— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2022

“The duration of snowfall was longer in comparison to previous years. The coming (next) 48 hours will be extremely cold with heavy snowfall,” Surender Paul, the head of the IMD regional office in Himachal Pradesh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The cold waves in several parts of Northern India are also expected due to heavy snowfall.

The IMD in its forecast on Monday said that most parts of the country will experience below the normal temperature in February, while Punjab and Haryana are expected to get above normal rainfall.

"Below normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country except along the eastern and southwestern coastal areas of peninsular India where it is likely to be normal to above normal," said the weather department.

Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed moderate fog on Wednesday morning with the minimum temperature recorded at 11.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Capital’s air quality the other day was, however,  in the ‘very poor category' as the air quality index (AQI) at 7.05 am on Wednesday was 341, the Central Pollution Control Board data showed, whereas the AQI in its neighbouring areas such as Faridabad stood at 283, Ghaziabad (356), Greater Noida (216), Gurugram (274) and Noida (327).