Kamal Ghorui
After weeks of anticipation, winter has finally announced its arrival in Himachal Pradesh, with a western disturbance bringing the season’s first spell of widespread and heavy snowfall across the hill state. The change in weather has been dramatic. Snow has blanketed high-altitude and tribal regions since last night, while lower-lying areas have seen rain accompanied by strong winds, triggering a sharp drop in temperatures and intensifying cold wave conditions, newsonair reported. In the state capital, Shimla, snowfall began early in the morning and has continued intermittently, transforming familiar streets into slippery stretches and slowing daily life. Tourist hotspot Manali too received the winter’s first snowfall, giving joy to tourists waiting to see a blanket of snow. The weather system’s effect has been felt in the districts of Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Chamba, and higher reaches of Mandi and Sirmaur where snowfall accumulation has seen a sharp increase. Farmers and orchardists, for their part, have greeted the snowfall with cautious optimism. Experts note that good chill accumulation in winter is critical for apple and other temperate fruit crops. Adequate chilling is required to ensure fruit quality and yield for the next growing season and therefore this start of a snowfall in what has been a mild winter sprinkles some optimism.
The IMD has been keeping a watch on the forecast and issued an array of alerts for the state. Heavy snowfall and rain are very likely at isolated places in Chamba, Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts with an orange warning. The yellow warning of hailstorm is for Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Solan, Sirmaur and Mandi. The department said the bad weather is not over yet with a slight respite expected before another onslaught exacerbates the situation. Read more: Why are more and more Indians going for ePassports? 3 key advantages that cannot be ignoredSpeaking about the ongoing weather activity, Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Senior Scientist at IMD Himachal Pradesh told ANI that the western disturbance has been active across the state since late last night. Rainfall has been recorded in many of the lower districts, with snow falls across higher elevation areas. The maximum snowfall till Thursday morning was recorded in Kothi in Kullu district with 15 cm, followed by Gondhla in Lahaul-Spiti at 12 cm and Chamba at 6 cm. Keylong and Manali received 4 cm of snow each, while Shimla got 1 cm and snow continued to fall. Light to moderate snowfall continued in the high altitude tribal areas and higher mountains of Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla bringing temperatures further down while the plains in Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur got a moderate rains during last 24 hours. Hamirpur had the maximum rainfall at 25 mm during this period. The prevailing weather conditions are likely to continue till late tonight, with rain and snowfall in higher reaches today; while lower areas of Kangra and Mandi would also receive rains, Sharma said.
