Wintry conditions return to Uttarakhand

Wintry conditions returned to Uttarakhand on Friday as snowfall in the hills and rain in the lower areas led to a sharp fall in temperature at various places.

The famous temples of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in the Himalayas received a fresh spell of snow while it rained intermittently in the lower areas including Dehradun, where the temperature fell by more than three notches, the meteorological office said.

Dehradun recorded a minimum temperature of 15.9 degrees Celsius, down from Thursday's 19.8 degrees Celsius, it said.

The nip in the air made many reach for their woollens once again.

The rain also helped in controlling forest fires in the state, bringing some relief to the forest department.

Twenty-six wildfires broke out in the last 12 hours, affecting 4.67 hectares of green cover, the department said in a bulletin.