Himachal Pradesh covered under snow blanket, IMD predicts more snowfall in next 48 hours

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Kullu: North India has been under the grip of a cold wave which has led to chilly winters in many states including the national capital, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. Though Delhi-NCR is waking up to dense fog with zero visibility, Himachal Pradesh has been covered under a thick blanket of snow after it received fresh snowfall overnight. "Snowfall is going on. Malana village in the Kullu district received fresh snowfall. As a result, people found themselves in "knee-deep" snow", said India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials. As per the IMD forecast, the sky will partly be cloudy in the Kullu district for the next two days. 

Minimum and maximum temperatures would oscillate between 4 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius, added IMD. In the higher reaches, Narkanda and the Mandhol village of Shimla district also received snowfall on Friday (January 13). Due to 2 feet of fresh snowfall at Mandhol village, the entire area is wrapped in snow, while the Narkanda area has received half a foot of fresh snowfall. 

Traffic movement has been affected due to the snowfall causing problems in commuting. The administration has suspended the movement of tourist vehicles beyond Solanganala. The India Meteorological Department forecasted snowfall in higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh during the next two days. 

The IMD has forecasted moderate snowfall during the next two days in the Kinnaur, Chamba, Lahaul -Spiti, Shimla, and Kullu districts of the state. As per IMD, after January 14, the weather is expected to remain dry, while a cold wave alert in the lower districts of Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, and Mandi has been sounded in the region. 

"The higher reaches in Himachal Pradesh during the past 24 hours received fresh snowfall. Kothi in Kullu district received 15CM snowfall, Hansa in Lahaul-Spiti recorded 9 cm fresh snowfall and higher reaches of Shimla district recorded 5 of a fresh snowfall," said IMD Senior Scientist HP Sandeep Kumar Sharma. He added that during the next 48 hours, the higher reaches in Kinnaur, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, and Shimla districts are expected to get light to moderate snowfall. 

(With inputs from ANI)