Sunny day in Shimla; snow likely from January 1

Shimla, December 31

Picturesque tourist resorts Shimla and Manali experienced another sunny day on Monday but temperatures remained below the freezing point at most places in Himachal Pradesh with chances of snow from January 1, the meteorological office said.

The state capital recorded the minimum temperature at 5.6 degrees Celsius.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was the coldest in the state with a minimum temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 1.4 degree in Kalpa, minus 0.6 degree in Manali, 6.1 degrees in Dalhousie and 4.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

The Met department said western disturbance--a storm system originating from the Mediterranean-Caspian Sea region and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region--would be active again in the region on January 1 with chances of widespread rain and snow. IANS