Sunny day in Himachal, flights resume

SHIMLA - The hills of Himachal Pradesh saw a sunny but cold day Monday and flight services resumed though they were running behind schedule due to fog in New Delhi.

It was a bright sunny day almost across the whole state and such conditions would continue till Tuesday, Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

He said the higher reaches were freezing with Keylong, headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, being the coldest at a minimum temperature of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 3 degrees, while the temperature was minus 1.7 degrees at Bhuntar in Kullu district and 3.4 degrees at Shimla town.

Flights in and out of Himachal Pradesh resumed Monday but were operating behind schedule as fog enveloped Delhi in the morning hours, an official said here.

Flights were badly hit Sunday morning due to dense fog in Delhi. No flight operated between Delhi and Shimla and Delhi and Kullu. But the flight between Delhi and Dharamsala was operational.

“All flights from Delhi to Shimla, to Kullu and to Dharamsala are operating today (Monday) but all are running behind schedule due to air traffic congestion in Delhi,” said an airport official.

Kingfisher is the only airline that operates daily flights between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

The Met office said clouds would hover across Himachal after Dec 29 with a moderate spell of snow in some parts.

The higher reaches in Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts would get a fresh blanket of snow from Dec 29 to 31, Singh said.

According to him, even Shimlas neighbouring hills like Kufri, Fagu, Narkanda and Manali, are likely to get snow.

A brief spell of rain would increase the moisture content that can trigger snow-like conditions. If the western disturbances remain active for a few days together, snow would veil Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie and other tourist spots, the Met director added.