Thaindian News

Shimla, Dec 7 (IANS) Winter tightened its grip on Himachal Pradesh Wednesday after widespread overnight rain in the middle and low hills and snow in the higher reaches, the met office here said.

However, rains after a gap of over one-and-a-half months have brought cheer to the fruit growers, mainly those cultivating apples.

Keylong was the coldest town at a minimum temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of 0.7 degrees, while the temperature was 5.6 degrees in Manali, and 7.1 degrees in Dharamsala, a met department release said.

Shimla recorded a minimum of 5.6 degrees, a slight fall from Tuesday’s 7.2 degrees. The town saw 5.8 mm of rain.

A horticulture expert at Solan-based Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry said apple, peach, plum, apricot and almond crops have now got some reprieve from the prolonged dry spell.

He said negligible rains or the total lack of it in most fruit-growing areas of the state from October onwards had reduced the moisture content in the soil.

The met office said clouds would hover across the state till Dec 9 with a mild spell of rain or snow in some parts of the state.