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34 is about 80° F. in the valley of Paghman, some 16 miles to the west of the capital and at an elevation of 7,200 feet, the mean temperature would scarcely exceed 60°. Higher up on the slopes of the Paghman range, the average temperature would not exceed 50°, while great extremes of cold nights are met. In stretches which occur at higher levels (8,000 to 10,000 ft.) one gets some extraordinary conditions of temperature. There are places where the ground temperature in the sun may be over 60°, while it is still freezing in the shade. In the height of summer, when the plain of Jalalabad is extremely sultry, and while the very air is frequently so hot as to cause the death of persons exposed to it, the Afghan Mont Blanc (Speen Ghar) lifts its lofty head, covered with perpetual snow. The nearest hills are cold and pleasant, and the more remote ones are covered with snow. However, the winters of Jalalabad, as well as those of Kandahar, are very agreeable, and are scarcely colder than those of Northern India, while the winters of the central plateau, especially that of Ghazni and Hazarajat, remind one of the severity of a Russian winter. On every side there are glassy sheets of ice for those who like to skate. Afghan children, incidentally are fond of skating and most of them glide on ice with their shoes. The coldest month of the year is the month of Dalv (corresponding to January 21 to February 20) when the mean temperature falls below zero. The lowest temperature occurs in cold waves, which may last several days. One of the hottest parts of the country is Seistan, in the extreme south-west. The heat in this part is more deadly than the sword of a human enemy. Here dust-storms occur frequently at all seasons, sometimes changing the light of midday to an intensity of darkness to which no ordinary night ever approaches.