New York: New York is the dirtiest city, with more pests and litter than any place else in the US, according to a review of government data by the cleaning-services company Busy Bee.

 The newly released report ranked 40 urban areas across the US based on pest and litter data from the American Housing Survey, air pollution data from the Environmental Protection Agency and population estimates from the US Census Bureau, Xinhua reported.

 The Big Apple took the top spot in three of those categories with a score of 427.9 on Busy Bee's "dirtiness index." Los Angeles ranked second with a score of 317.8.

 Some 904,000 homes in New York have litter on nearby streets or properties, and nearly 2.3 million homes have seen signs of mice, rats or cockroaches in the past year, according to the report. New York also ranks first for population density, with 28,000 people per square mile.

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Srinagar (PTI): Night temperatures in Kashmir dropped several degrees below the freezing point, even as a thick layer of fog engulfed parts of the valley, with Srinagar recording a low of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, officials said on Saturday.

Shopian was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, they said.

The mercury had on Thursday night settled above the freezing point at most places in the valley, providing huge relief to the residents from the biting cold conditions.

However, temperatures dropped across Kashmir on Friday night, bringing back the freezing cold, the officials said.

On the Friday night, the minimum temperature in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- settled at minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, a sharp drop from 0.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.

The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara, and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir's Kokernag, the officials said.

Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg lodged minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and Konibal town in Pulwama district recorded minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.

The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on December 6-7, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.