A fresh bout of snowfall has shut the Manali-Leh highway to travellers. Due to the severity of the current weather conditions, authorities advised tourists not to venture beyond Darcha village in the Lahaul-Spiti district.
According to Lahaul-Spiti police, snowfall was received in Baralacha La, Koksar, Jingjingbar, Rohtang Pass and Shinkula. Past the highway of Darcha, the roads have become extremely slippery because of ice formation, especially at Shinku-La and Baralacha Pass, making it extremely dangerous for vehicles to go through. A couple of police posts at Chandratal and Sarchu were also removed by the Lahaul-Spiti administration after the recent bout of snowfall. However, the Darcha police post is still functioning.
Officials have been reiterating the fact that tourists should not go beyond Darcha without informing the local authorities. Lahaul-Spiti administration informed that they have received three light snowfalls in the past few days, which have made temperatures drop, prompting colder weather across the state.
Other places in the state also recorded low temperatures, with Keylong recording a minimum of six degrees Celsius. Kukumseri and Kappa followed closely behind, recording 6.7 degrees and 8.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. Shimla recorded 15 degrees, Dalhousie was at 15.8 degrees, Manali was at 14.2 degrees, and Kufri was at 13.2 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the weather department has also predicted moderate rainfall at multiple places and light snowfall at the higher altitude areas of the state.