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Temperature has started decreasing day by day across the country in recent days. 

Schools in some of the districts in Tarai have started closing their teaching learning activities due to fog and mist and the increasing cold. Snowfall is taking place in the mountainous region. There is fluctuation of temperature and weather in districts including in Kathmandu Valley. 

Kathmandu Valley recorded the coldest day today this year. 

According to the Meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Hari Prasad Dahal, the minimum temperature of Kathmandu Valley has dropped by around two degrees Celsius today as compared to Monday. 

Today's minimum temperature of Kathmandu Valley has been recorded at 4.9 degrees Celsius which was 6.8 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Most of the areas in Tarai of the country have been witnessing thick fog today. However, the weather in the mountain region is fair. 

Dahal added, "No weather system causing rain has developed. The Westerly wind has not been active. Areas of Tarai have been witnessing thick fog in lack of rainfall."

Jumla has recorded the lowest temperature today, which is minus 3 degrees Celsius.

The Pokhara Metropolitan City is going to remove structures such as workshops and garages located along the main road.

Preparations have started to remove workshops and scrap collection centers on highways and major roads within the metropolitan area.

The Metropolitan City has issued a notice giving 35 days to remove workshops on the right side of the main road from Kotre to Setipul of the Pokhara section of the Prithvi Highway, from Chhorepatan to Prithvi Chowk of the Siddhartha Highway and from Jirokimi to Phedi of the Pokhara Baglung Highway.

Similarly, the metropolis has stated that due to the scrap collection centers, workshops, car wash, and grill industries operating on the stalls and vacant lands on both sides of the main roads in the urban area, there has been difficulty in traffic movement and has also spoiled the city's aesthetics. 

Such industries have been informed to be managed elsewhere as they have an adverse effect on maintaining environmental cleanliness in the metropolitan area, said Metropolitan Mayor Dhanraj Acharya.

Similarly, the Metropolitan City has urged hardware shops, depots and other businesses operating in designated areas not to place construction materials, signboards and other items and materials on the roadside.

Mayor Acharya said that non-compliance with the metropolis' request and operating such businesses or enterprises and storing materials in designated areas will be dealt with according to the prevailing law.

The metropolitan city has also appealed to the residents to extend support to it in the campaign of removing structures such as workshops from highways and main road areas.

All schools in Gaur Municipality in Rautahat district have been closed until Friday citing biting cold in the district in the past few days.

Issuing a notice on Monday, the Gaur Municipality announced a holiday in all community and institutional schools until December 26.

Chief Administrative Officer of Gaur Municipality Subas Kumar Thakur said that a decision to give a holiday in the schools was made, as the regular classes were affected due to excessive cold and considering the fact that the cold could impact the school children's health. The holiday will be adjusted with the summer break, it is said. 

Normal life in the district was affected due to a severe cold since the second week of December.

Counting of snow leopards has begun for the first time in Mustang in a bid to ascertain the snow leopard population. 

The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Mustang has launched a survey of snow leopard through camera trapping at four local levels since Saturday. 

Though ACAP and other concerned organizations had conducted camera trappings by finding possible habitats of snow leopards, it was not sufficient to know the actual population.  

Chief of ACAP Lomanthang, Umesh Poudel, said the process of 161 camera trapping grids was determined in every five km distance in both Lower and Upper Mustang. 

Recently, snow leopards are coming down hills in search of food during the winter season. So, Biocos Nepal and ACAP installed 111 cameras at six more places in the Baragaon Mukti area and Gharapjhong rural municipality a few days back for counting the number of leopards. 

ACAP Lomanthnag has divided human resources in three blocks for camera trapping and more than one dozen persons have been deputed in the field for this purpose. 

ACAP technicians and local human resources would provide support, Poudel mentioned. 

The cameras would remain fixed in the fields for a maximum six months for this purpose.