Met issues 'orange' warning for heavy rain, snow in parts of Himachal

Shimla: An 'orange' warning has been issued for heavy snow at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district on Monday, prompting the local police to issue an advisory asking people to stay away from sensitive areas and avoid unnecessary travel.

The Met office has issued an 'orange' alert for heavy snow at isolated places in Lahaul and Spiti district, heavy rain and snow along with thunderstorms and lightning in Chamba and Kangra districts, and hail in Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Solan districts.

The Mandi administration has advised the public to avoid travel to the higher reaches.

The weather continued to remain mainly dry in the 24 hours ended at 8:30 am on Monday, with Bilapsur and Mandi witnessing shallow fog.

A large number of tourists had made a beeline for Shimla and other tourist towns during the weekend following last week's snowfall.

There was no appreciable change in minimum temperatures. Keylong in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place, recording a night temperature of minus 10.2 degree Celsius.

Hundreds of roads in the state are closed due to landslides and flash floods in the past few days and work to restore them is underway.