Tourists are thronging to witness the heavy snowfall in Shimla and various other parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir. Records show this has been the heaviest snowfall of the season in Shimla and the second major snowfall in all of the hills.
While Shimla got 22 cm of snow, nearby tourist spots of Kufri and Narkanda were covered under 30 and 35 cm of thick snow. Mussoerie received 10 mm of rain/snow, Dehradun – 43 mm, Nainital – 48 mm, Solan – 27 mm, Nahan – 41.2 mm, Mukteswar – 47mm, Pithoragarh – 35 mm. Pantnagar in Nainital recorded very heavy rain/snow of 77.4 mm.
While on one hand travellers are busy enjoying and making snowmen, heavy to very heavy snow has jeopardized the lives of many in a snow blizzard at the LOC in Jammu & Kashmir.
In Himachal Pradesh, half a foot of snow in the hilly town Shimla blocked supplies of milk, bread and newspapers to locals. While the Shimla - Kalka road and roads linking lower areas of Kangra, Hamirpur and Mandi with state headquarters, remained open, the Auli highway in Uttarakhand remained shut for commuters and tourists.
“Those who have missed snowfall this time, can still plan a visit to Shimla, Srinagar, Kufri or Mussorie. A fresh Western Disturbance is approaching the hills of North India, which could bring another spell of widespread snowfall in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on the 21st and 22nd of January”, spoke Mahesh Palawat, meteorologist at Skymet Weather.
Last year Shimla had recorded 64 cm of snowfall in January while in January 2012, 93 cm snowfall was recorded. Irrigation and public health minister Vidya Stokes said that rain and snow in Shimla this year will benefit the apple growers.
Photo by msnnews.
