North India shivers as cold wave intensifies, snow covers the hills

TEMP DROPPED BELOW ZERO IN PARTS OF J&K; AND WEATHER DEPT IN HIMACHAL ISSUED A "YELLOW ALERT" FOR DENSE FOG IN BHAKRA DAM RESERVOIR AREA AND BALH VALLEY

- HT Correspondents

SHIMLA/DEHRADUN: Snow blanketed several hill stations in north India, with towns in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand ushering in a white Christmas after several years, even as the conditions disrupted normal life, stranded hundreds of tourists and led to four deaths.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Shimla town received 7cm of snow, while Kufri got around 15.3cm. Dharamshala has received around 8.5 cm of snow and Manali about 14.5cm, officials said, adding heavy snowfall was reported from upper reaches of the state such as Sangla in Kinnaur district. The weather office has forecast a light spell of snow and rain till December 28 in the western Himalayan region.

The weather office has issued an "orange" warning for severe cold in Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh; and a "yellow" warning for dense fog over parts of the Bhakra dam reservoir area and the Balh Valley till Thursday.