Himachal sunny, but in many places mercury stays below zero

 It was a bright sunny day on Wednesday in Himachal Pradesh but temperatures in the picturesque tourist resorts of Shimla, Dalhousie and Manali stayed below or close to sub-zero.

The meteorological office here said that a mild western disturbance would be active in the region on Thursday, with temperatures forecast to remain abnormally low till the weekend.

"It was another bright and sunny day almost all across the state," an official of the Met office told IANS.

However, the minimum temperature in Shimla was minus 0.4 degree.

Destinations near Shimla like Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda are still marooned in snow cover.

Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was the coldest in the state at a minimum of minus 10.9 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 8.5 degrees, while the minimum temperature was minus 2.8 degrees in Manali, minus 0.9 degrees in Dalhousie, minus 2.3 in Kufri and 2.6 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala.IANS