Fresh snowfall in tourist resorts Shimla, Manali

The cold wave tightened grip on most parts of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday with Shimla and Manali receiving fresh snowfall.

As news of the snowfall flashed across the plains, tourists started arriving at Manali and Shimla hills.

The local Met Department has predicted snow at some places from January 6.

The residents of Queen of Hills, the Himachal capital, shivered as icy winds brought down the minimum temperature to 0.7 degrees Celsius while the maximum stayed at 5 degrees Celsius, a sharp fall from Friday's 11.4 degrees.

In the afternoon, Shimla received 6.4 cm of snow. But it largely melted within few hours due to rains. It was the season's second snowfall.

According to the Met office here, Sarahan in the Shimla district received 6 cm snow, while Kothi near Manali 2 cm snow.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla districts experienced moderate snow in the past 24 hours," a Met official said.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti was the coldest in the state with a low of minus 13.5 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in the Kinnaur district, which saw mild snowfall, recorded a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius, while the temperature was minus 1.2 degrees Celsius in Manali. Dharamsala registered 2.8 degrees Celsius.IANS