Shimla: Cold wave loosened its grip on the hill state of Himachal Pradesh for the second consecutive day with no reports of rain or snowfall in the past 24 hours.

The scenic tourist spot Shimla experienced a relatively warm day with the mercury touching 15.6 degrees Celsius while the low was recorded at 5.3 degrees against yesterday s 3.8 C, the Met sources said.

Night temperature also picked up in the high altitude Lahual and Spiti, known as "cold desert", where the minimum was recorded at minus 10.1 degree Celsius at Keylong and minus -3.5 degree Celsius at Kalpa, they said.

Yesterday, the two places witnessed a low of -13.6 degrees C and -4.5 degrees C respectively.

Though, there was no fresh rain or snowfall, a thick deposit of snow upto 8-10 foot was reported from Rohtang Pass.

Famous tourist destination of Manali also witnessed a sunny day though thin layer of dark cloud hovered over the city late afternoon.

Meanwhile, a four-seater copter ferried between Bhuntar in Kullu to Tshitingery in Lahual Spiti, which is cut off from rest of the land due to snow deposits, sources said.

The Met office forecast mainly dry weather in the state in the next 24 hours.
Source : PTI