Mercury dips with chances of snow in Himachal

The hills of Himachal Pradesh on Monday witnessed a fall in temperatures and the Met Office forecast rain and snowfall in the state.

"There are chances of rain and snowfall in the state in the next 24 hours," the Met Office said in a statement.

It said a Western disturbances, a storm system originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, would be active in the region from Monday.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Narkanda, Kufri and Manali may witness snowfall, according to the statement.

Picturesque tourist resort Manali, some 250 km from Shimla, had already experienced snow.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was the coldest in the state with a low of minus 4.7 degrees Celsius.

Shimla recorded the minimum temperature at 3.9 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 2 in Kalpa in Kinnaur district, minus 0.6 in Manali, 6.8 in Dharamsala and 2.7 in Dalhousie.-IANS