Avalanche alert in Lahaul Spiti, Manali and Narkanda receive heavy snowfall 

The bone biting cold waves are intensified in the state as mercury plummet several degree blow normal and tourist resort Manali and Narkanda got heavy fresh snowfall in past 24 hrs, Indian Meteorological department said.

Chirgaon of Shimla district recorded 35 cm snowfall till Monday morning in Shimla district, Khadrala 30 cm( one feet), Tourist resort Narkanda 25 cm, Kufri ten cm , Shimla town two cm snow and 26.4 mm. Snowfall did not mount on the tourist resort after it was thaw after the impact of incident rainfall.

Tourist resort Manali which had major flip in the tourist footfall following the continue snowfall since last five days recorded 23.6 cm snowfall and seven mm rainfall. Keylong which is connected throught the Atal tunnel Rohtang by round the clock got 15 cm snwofall and Kukuseri and Kalpa in Kinnuar 7 cm each. According district administration Lahaul Spiti the weather was cloudy to partly cloud on Monday and Keylong had 30 cm fresh snowfall in the day today, Kaza had nine cm fresh snow, Udaipur 40 cm fresh snowfall, Tindi and Sisu 30 cm each, North Portal 30 cm and South portal three foot ( 90 cm ) snowfall and road have beeen closed)  

Dhauladhar ranges of Kangra district, 13050 feet high Rohtang Pass and Kunzum pass in Lahaul Spiti districtd , Kinner Kailash in Kinnuar , Chanshala pass in Shimla  and Haripur dhar of Sirmaur, Shikari Devi of Mandi and Jalori jot of Kullu had one to two feet fresh snowfall which increased the icy cold wave in the state dipping down the mercury several degrees below normal.

Acording to Met Office Sundernagar in Mandi had taround 57 mm rainfall, Karsog and Solan 56 mm, Jogindernagar ofr Mandi 53 mm, Baijnath of Kangra 48 mm, Bhuntar airport in Kullu 45.8 mm, abode of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama Dharmshala in Kangra district 22.5 mm, Palampur  28 mm, Mandi 40mm, Hamirpur 35 mm, Bilaspur 25 mm, Paonta Sahib of Sirmaur 32 mmand Jubberhati airport 18 mm.

Following the fresh inclement weather and heavy snowfall on the high reaches minimum temperature of Kaza went down to minus 17 degrees, Kelylong minus  12 degrees

Kumseri minus seven degrees, Narkanda minus 3.6 degrees, Kalpa minus 2.4 degrees, Shimla minus  0.1 degrees( 3.5 degree below normal) and Manali minus 0.9 degrees

and Kufri zero degrees, Solan 3.6, Jubberhati 3.8, Dharmshala four , Nahan five degrees, Mandi and Chamba 5.5 degrees each, Una six degrees, Hamirpur 7 and Bilaspur 8.8 degrees.

According to state diaster management authority around 645 roads and four national highway are snowbound in the state including 242 road in Shimla 157 in Lahaul Spiti m 93 road in Kullu 61 in Chamba district and 51 roads in Mandi and 16 in Sirmaur district. Including NH-3, NH-305 , NH 505 are snowbound whereas NH 3 snowbound in Rohtang pass, Manali-Atal tunnel.

The power line is disrupted in 1416 distribution transformer regions including 245 in Sirmaur 113 in Sihmla 221 in Mandi485 in Kullu 319 in Chamba and 30 DTR in Kinnuar distirct. As many as 52 water supply scheme also affected due to snowfall and disrupting the power supply to such schemes.

According to press release issued by the Lahaul Spiti police avalance alert has been issued today for next 24 hrs. The administeration cautioned the local resident that in the event of a snowfall warning and potential avalanche risk they should stay informed and monitor the weather forecast and avalanche advisories from District police and DDMA.

The District disaster management authority advised the administration to evacuate the avalanche prone zone in the district and one should keep  distance higher ground and stay away from potential avalanche paths.   The local administration and people should carry safety equipment  in avalanche-prone areas, carry necessary safety equipment such as avalanche beacons, probes, and shovels.

One should inform the others before leaving their homes and stations and he or she should inform someone about if going into avalanche terrain. One should always prioritize safety and follow official guidance in such situations.