Dehradun, Dec 11 (IANS): With a fresh bout of snowfall in Uttarakhand, the mercury has dropped in the hill state and many neighbouring areas as well, an official of the regional Met Department said on Tuesday.

The trend is likely to continue for the next few days and rains are also likely at some places in the hill state. An official said while the upper ranges in the state were witnessing heavy snowfall, the plains were in grip of cold and fog.

The fresh spell of rains and snowfall, the regional Met office informed, the temperature is likely to fall by at least 2-3 degrees celsius.

Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath have overcast sky on Tuesday and the shrines have been receiving intermittent rains over the past 24-hours. The winter cold has picked up pace in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.

The state capital Dehradun has also witnessed increase in cold weather conditions in the past 24-hours but a sunny day has saved people here from the bite of the increasing cold.

In the hill stations of Nainital and Mussourie, the temperature in the last 24-hours has been recorded five degrees below normal.