Amid severe cold and excessive snowfall at an altitude of around 15,000 feet in north Sikkim, around 300 yaks have starved to death. The administration has rushed medical teams to save the remaining animals in the region.

With the onset of winter, the snowfall starts in most hill-stations in India. This year, due to heavy snowfall at Nathu La in Sikkim, over 3000 tourists got stuck near the India-China border. Good news is that our powerful Indian Army has rescued all of them and all the tourists are now in comfortable zone.

Some parts of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday received snowfall but it continued to elude the capital, Met said.

The sun is shining brightly in Himachal Pradesh these days and dry conditions is likely to prevail till the New Year dawns, the weather bureau said on Tuesday.

Srinagar city received season's first snowfall on Tuesday as higher reaches both in the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley received moderate snowfall.

Surface and air links between the Kashmir Valley and the outside world remained suspended on Wednesday as fresh snowfall disrupted normal life here.

Other areas of the North like Uttar Pradesh and adjoining NCR region are facing low temperatures due to heavy rainfall at some places.

The cold weather resulted in the freezing of taps. According to the Met office here, certain areas in Shimla like the Mall Road, the Ridge, the US Club and Jakhu hills got more than a foot of snow.