Himachal sees mercury below freezing point

Himachal Pradesh on Saturday witnessed a sunny but chilly day with temperature in many areas staying below freezing point, the Met Office said.

"It was a bright, sunny day across the state with chances of rain and snow at some places in the state from January 1," an official of the meteorological office told IANS.

He said Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest with a minimum temperature of minus 10.8 degree Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district was freezing at minus 2.4 degree Celsius, while the temperature was minus 2.6 degree Celsius in Manali, 2.2 degrees in Dharamsala, 1.9 degrees in Kufri and 4.1 degrees in Dalhousie.

Shimla's night temperature was 4.5 degrees Celsius.

The Met Office has forecast snow and rain in the state due to active western disturbance from January 1.

Western disturbance is a term used for a storm system that generates in the Mediterranean and brings rain or snow in the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent. - IANS