Avalanche alert in Himachal Pradesh! IMD issues warning in four districts; check prediction here

An avalanche warning has been issued for certain high-altitude regions in Himachal Pradesh for the next 24 hours, according to the Met office on Saturday.

The office also forecasted a wet spell in the state until Thursday.

Since Friday evening, parts of the state have experienced light snowfall, with Gondla and Kukumseri in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti receiving 8 cm and 4.2 cm of snow, respectively, while Kalpa in Kinnaur saw 2 cm of snow.

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The Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment, Chandigarh, on Saturday issued an “orange” alert for the possibility of avalanches in high-altitude areas of Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul, and Spiti districts in the next 24 hours, PTI reported.

Forecast

The IMD has forecasted thunderstorms and lightning at isolated locations on March 16th. According to an official release from IMD Himachal Pradesh, “Light to moderate rain/snow is likely at a few places on March 16th, 2025, and light rain/snow is expected at isolated places on March 17th, 19th, and 20th, 2025, in the districts of Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur, as well as over the higher reaches of Chamba, Kangra, and Kullu.”

The release also stated, “Mainly dry weather is likely to prevail over the state on March 18th and 21st, 2025.”

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Snowfall since February 26 has made life tough for tribals in Chamba's Pangi valley. With the closure of roads, the villagers have been forced to carry the sick to hospital on palanquins.

It was reported that on Friday, Sham Singh, a patient from Punto village, was taken to Civil Hospital in Killar on a palanquin. Earlier, villagers from Hudan panchayat had carried two patients, Sher Singh and Hira Lal, to the hospital on their backs.

Several places in the state received intermittent rains.

Kalpa received 22.6 mm of rain, followed by Manali with 18 mm, Kotkhai at 16.1 mm, Rohru at 15 mm, Saloni at 14.2 mm, Theog and Kufri each at 12 mm, Kasauli with 11 mm, Seobagh at 10 mm, Bhuntar at 8.6 mm, Shimla at 8.2 mm, Solan at 7 mm, and Chamba at 6 mm.

Thunderstorms were observed in Bhuntar, Jot, and Palampur, while Kufri experienced hailstorms.

Kukumseri recorded the lowest night temperature at minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, while Dhaulakuan in Sirmaur district was the hottest during the day, reaching a high of 26.7 degrees Celsius.

From March 1 to 15, Himachal Pradesh recorded 60.7 mm of rainfall, surpassing the normal 57.4 mm for this period, resulting in a 6 percent excess.

(With inputs from PTI)