1700 hours, 23-01-2019, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India:

The snowfall stopped yesterday in the night at the state capital Shimla, while upper Shimla including Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, and parts of Kullu experienced heavy snowfall. According to local sources, a hefty three to four feet of snow has already accumulated in these regions till today. Kufri recorded the highest snowfall near Shimla, getting somewhere around one-and-a-half to two feet of snow, while the city saw half to one-and-a-half feet of snow settling at different parts. It has been the heaviest snowfall so far and the weather is still a little cloudy and cold here.

Most of the snow in the city has melted off, being ‘Geeli Baraf’ (as known by people here), which has a higher water content and is heavier. The sun also gave some respite from the cold to both residents and tourists alike, though the clouds made every effort to block the suns rays from reaching the ground.

IMD reports say that many parts of the state (higher regions) of Himachal will experience more snowfall in the coming two days. It is also predicted that many parts of Uttarakhand will have massive amount of snowfall in the coming three to four days. While it is hard to exactly predict what the weather conditions are going to be, the clouds in the sky are looking promising.

As 26th January is also near, preparations for the Republic Day parade are in full swing. I happened to capture glimpses of the preparation at Chaura Maidan, where people were building different models nailed to a wooden frame, which were individually kept over different trucks. The trucks will be a part of the Republic Day parade and will be used to showcase various cultural and other aspects of the state.

It is going to be a clear night tonight, which means it would be even colder than yesterday. Planning to get back home as soon as I can.