Snowfall brings temperature down in Manali

Shimla, Jan 5 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist spot Manali saw snowfall early Monday and the region remained in the grip of a severe cold wave as temperatures dipped further.

'Manali and its nearby areas received good snowfall in the early hours of Monday. This is the first good snowfall of the season in the town,' Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

'Manali received three to four inches of snow,' he added. The town had received the season's first snowfall Sunday, but it was scanty and had melted within a few hours.

The Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti district, the Solang valley, Kothi, the Pir Panjal range, Brighu slopes, Chanderkhani Pass and Hamta Pass in Kullu district also experienced heavy snowfall.

Intense cold wave conditions continued to grip the upper Manali region following a further decline in the temperature.

Singh said that while the upper areas of Shimla like Jakhu hills, the commercial centre Mall, the historic Ridge and the US Club received one to three centimetres of snow, the lower areas of the town like New Shimla, Vikas Nagar, Sanjauli and Khalini saw moderate rainfall.

Shimla and Dalhousie experienced the first snowfall of the season Sunday morning, making the hill towns even more picturesque.