New Delhi:
Cold wave is sweeping north India with 18 more overnight deaths, taking the nation-wide number death toll to 93. Sixteen people died in Uttar Pradesh and two in Punjab.
So far, 61 fatalities due to cold and foggy weather have been reported in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in Jharkhand, 11 in Punjab and seven in Bihar.
Thick fog has enveloped many parts of the northern plains, hitting road and rail traffic.
The national capital got a respite after two days of bone-chilling cold as mercury shot up by a few degrees. Delhi recorded 7 degrees Celsius while Srinagar recorded a low of one degree. In Delhi, chief minister Shiela Dikshit says there are enough night shelters for the homeless but the real challenge is to convince the poor to use them.
In Uttar Pradesh, where the harsh weather has so far claimed 61 lives, the lowest temperature of three degrees Celsius was recorded at Najibabad in Bijnore.
(With inputs from PTI)