Shimla experiences season’s first snowfall; Delhi temperature dips after light rains

Shimla on Tuesday experienced the season’s first snowfall (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar)

Shimla, which saw a low of 2.7 degrees Celsius, recorded mild snowfall, while Kufri and Mashobra recorded moderate snowfall. The day’s temperature in Shimla stayed at 12.2 degrees. The snowy landscape in Shimla would stay for one-two days, an official of the Met Office said.

Reports said some of the areas in apple belt Jubbal and Kharapathar also experienced snow. “High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate snow,” the official said.

Manali, which remained cloudy, experienced a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius, while it was 6.6 degrees in Dharamsala. The majestic Dhauladhar ranges in the Kangra valley got a fresh blanket of snow cover.

As news of the snowfall spread, tourists flocked to Shimla and nearby ares including Kufri (Express Photo by Pradeep kumar)

Kalpa, some 250 km from the state capital and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district also experienced snow. These towns saw the night temperature fall to minus two degrees and minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi towns received rain, bringing down the temperature considerably. The Met Office has forecast that scattered rain or snow is likely in the state till Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed the first rainfall of the year after a dry spell of 42 days. The national capital and its surrounding areas got drizzles in the morning and the sky remained overcast. According to private weather forecasting agency Skymet, Delhi receives an average rainfall of 19.3mm during January.

School children enjoying first spill of rainfall of this winter. (Express Photo by Premnath Pandey)

This year no rain was recorded and Delhi saw the longest dry spell of 42 days. The days ahead are expected to be foggy with no rains, the India Meteorological Department said. The minimum temperature in the morning was 9.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average. Humidity stood at 84 per cent at 8.30 a.m.

The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 21 degrees Celsius. However, the weather remained dry in Uttar Pradesh with shallow to moderate fog occurring at a few places in the state.

According to the meteorological (MeT) department, cold wave occurred at isolated places over the state and while very dense fog occurred at a few places over the eastern parts of the state. On Monday, the day temperatures rose in Gorakhpur and were above normal in Moradabad and Meerut.

The night temperatures were below normal in Varanasi, Faizabad, Allahabad, Lucknow and Bareilly. The lowest minimum temperature in the the state was 3.6 degree Celsius recorded at Fursatganj.

–With agencies inputs

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