Pleasant weather in Himachal, more rain in store

The weather in Himachal Pradesh remained pleasant Sunday following the recent rains and the Met forecast more rains ahead.

"Temperatures plummeted by one to two degrees Celsius across the state in the past 24 hours," an official of the meteorological office here told IANS.

He said most of the prominent tourist destinations like Shimla, Dharamsala, Palampur, Manali, Kasauli, Kufri, Narkanda and Dalhousie have been witnessing intermittent rainfall for the past few days, bringing down temperatures to comfortable levels.

Kalpa, a picturesque town 250 km from here, recorded a maximum temperature of 26.2 degrees Celsius.

Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded a high of 30.9 degrees Celsius, while it was 30.2 degrees Celsius at Dharamsala in Kangra district.

State capital Shimla saw a maximum at 26 degrees Celsius, while picturesque tourist resort Manali recorded 30 degrees Celsius.

The Met forecast widespread rain and thundershowers across the state from June 12.

Met officials say the southwest monsoon normally hits the hill state by June 27.