Snow has been shrouding the northern hills of the country since last many days. Most of the hill states of North India are reeling under several feet of snow. Severe cold wave conditions have created chaos among the tourists and locals in various regions of Himachal Pradesh as well.
Temperatures have dropped significantly and in last 24 hours, Manali recorded temperature at -6°C, Kalpa -5°C, Keylong Valley recorded a freezing -9.1°C, Shimla 1.3°C, Solan 0.8°C and Una recorded the mercury settling at 6°C.
Most of the places in the state have also witnessed snowfall. During the similar time frame, Kalpa and Keylong Valley recorded light rain or snow amounting to 2.6 mm and 4 mm respectively.
The havoc of snowfall can be made out of the fact that most of the areas were deprived of power and water and traffic was badly affected. In fact, Sarah Valley and the Gadagusseni area in Kullu are still covered under 3 to 4 inches of snow. This is creating chaos for the villagers as they have to travel miles on snow covered roads and carry patients on palanquins to reach the hospital.
Moreover, various connecting roads to and from Shimla were also badly affected. Two days back, national highway 5 connecting the upper part of the city also came to halt. Owing to the snowfall, vehicles did not ply outside the Sanjauli road leading to Kufri and Narkanda.
Now, as per Skymet Weather, the possibility of snow and rain over the lower reaches of the hilly regions is not foreseen for another 24- 48 hours. However, a fresh Western Disturbance is expected to affect Jammu and Kashmir soon.
Therefore, the higher altitudes are likely to witness some light snow or rain again from January 21. The intensity of rain or snow is expected to increase on January 22 and moderate to heavy snow and rain may occur from January 24 to January 27.
Owing to the heavy snowfall, schools, and colleges in the Una District have also been shut as per the order of the District Magistrate until January 21.
Image Credit: himchalwatcher.com
Please Note: Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com
