Shimla, Dec 29 (IANS): The hill stations of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday experienced sunny conditions but temperatures were close to the freezing point at several places and there were also chances of snow this week, weather officials said here.

"Dry weather to prevail in the state till December 30. Thereafter, there are chances of snow and rain in the state," an official at the Meteorological Office told IANS.

In the state capital, it was bright and sunny but bone-chilling with a low of 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Like Shimla, other popular destinations like Kufri, Narkanda, Kasauli, Dharamsala, Palampur, Dalhousie and Manali were also experiencing sunny days that resulted in the rise in mercury during the daytime.

Tourist resort Dalhousie saw a low of 4.4 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 2.6 degrees in Manali and 2.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

The night temperature in Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, was minus 11 degrees, in Kalpa in Kinnaur district minus 1.6 degrees and in Kufri 1.2 degrees.

The weather office said there are chances of snow in mid and high hills of the state from December 31.

"The Western Disturbances are approaching the region from December 31. If these remain active for a few days, snow would cover most of the tourist spots," it added.