More snowfall predicted in Himachal

Shimla, Jan 21 (IANS) The hills of Himachal Pradesh might experience more rain and snowfall in the coming week, a weather official said here on Saturday.

"There are chances of heavy rainfall and snowfall at some places in the state from January 24 to 25," an official in the meteorological department told IANS.

He said the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- are likely to be active again in the region.

The Met department's forecast has brought cheer to the state's hospitality industry.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali are likely to have light to moderate spells of snowfall, the official added.

Shimla, known for the imperial grandeur of buildings that were once institutions of power when it was the summer capital of British India, is still under a snow cover after the last spell of snowfall on January 16.

Areas near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda and the popular tourist resort of Manali also remained covered under a thick blanket of snow.

Keylong, the district headquarter town of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest in the state at a minimum temperature of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus two degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was minus one degree in Manali and seven degrees in Dharamsala.

The minimum temperature in state capital Shimla was 6.4 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was 12 degrees. It saw overcast skies throughout the day.