Shimla: Shimla got first mild snowfall of the season on Wednesday while most parts of Himachal Pradesh shivered under biting cold wave conditions with minimum temperatures hovering around freezing point.
Shimla, which recorded 5 mm snowfall, experienced the coldest night of the season with mercury slipping to minus 0. 2 degree Celsius.
Thousands of tourists who have thronged Shimla at the year-end were ecstatic and enjoyed the snowfall, braving icy winds and shivering cold wave conditions.
The high-altitude tribal areas and other higher mountain ranges had another spell of moderate snowfall and mercury dipped minus 9.9 degrees at Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district.
Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded a low of minus 9.9 degrees and minus 4.4 degrees.
Manali recorded minimum night temperature at minus 2.6 degrees, followed by Una minus 2.0 degrees, Solan 0.4 degree, Sundernagar 0.6 degree and Bhuntar and Palampur 1.0 degree.
The minimum temperatures ranged between minus 12 and minus 18 degree in high altitude tribal areas and all natural sources of water including lakes, springs, rivulets, tributaries of major rivers and long stretch of Chandrabhaga river were frozen for past three weeks, causing sharp fall in discharge of water in snowfed rivers.
The maximum temperatures decreased by 2 to 3 degreess and Una was hottest with a high of 20.4 degrees, followed by Nahan 15 degrees, Sundernagar 14.8 degrees, Solan 14.6 degrees, Bhuntar 12 degrees, Shimla 9 degrees, Manali 5 degrees and Kalpa 4.6 degrees.
The local MeT office has predicted dry weather in the region for next two days and rains and snow in the region on December 26 and 27.
(With agency inputs)