ABSTRACT
I Have already mentioned the great cold in the other two Thibets; it is the same in this Third Thibet, with heavy snowfalls and severe frosts. This is not caused by the high latitude, but partly by the rarefaction of the air, Thibet being surrounded by exceeding high mountains, and partly by the prevailing violent winds, which passing over them, are charged with bitter cold. The coldest season is from the middle of October to the middle of April, when snow lies deep on the mountains and is slow to melt. In inhabited districts the snowfall is less and it melts sooner. In May the weather is warmer, while in June, July and August, the heat, caused by the refraction of the sun’s rays from the bare rocky mountains would be unbearable but for the rains which refresh the inhabitants and allow the crops to sprout and mature. In September the rains generally cease and the climate is temperate until the middle of October. This does not apply to the higher mountains, which are nearly alwavs covered with snow and swept by violent winds. Although the cold is so intense, Thibet is very healthy, and being so dry travellers can pass the night with the sky as their only roof as generally happened to me in my long journeys. 8
