Sunshine in Himachal after widespread snow

Shimla, Jan 7 (IANS) It was a bright and sunny on Monday morning in most parts of Himachal Pradesh after days of widespread snowfall.

"It was bright and sunny after three days of widespread snow and rain," an official of the Met Office told IANS.

The minimum temperature was minus 0.7 degrees Celsius in Shimla, which saw 5 cm of snow.

Shimla's nearby destinations like Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda experienced moderate snowfall in the past 24 hours.

Snow could be seen in certain areas of Shimla like the Mall Road, Ridge, US Club and Jakhu hills and would stay for a few days more.

Keylong, district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, was the coldest in the state at a minimum of minus 12 degrees Celsius. It saw 6 cm of snow.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 8.6 degrees, while the minimum temperature was minus 3.6 degree in Manali, minus 1.9 degrees in Dalhousie, minus 4.5 degrees in Kufri and 1.8 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala.

Rains lashed towns in lower hills in Himachal Pradesh such as Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, pushing down the mercury.

Palampur town recorded 12.2 mm of rain, the highest in the state.

The Met said another western disturbance -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- are likely to hit the western Himalayan region on January 8, bringing isolated to scattered precipitation.