New Delhi, Jan 11: Freezing winds sweeping northern and eastern regions forced mercury to plummet sharply at many places today intensifying the cold wave that has claimed nearly 300 lives this winter as blinding fog continued to play truant with road, rail and air traffic. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar bore the brunt of the cold fury accounting for 180 and 48 deaths respectively.
Kanpur shivered at zero degree Celsius, the lowest in the past 44 years, as 28 people succumbed overnight to chilly weather in Uttar Pradesh.
The minimum temperatures in Lucknow, Varanasi and Allahabad slid to two degrees celsius as dense fog wrapped the state bringing to screeching halt road and rail traffic at many places.
Patna and pilgrimage town Gaya in Bihar recorded lowest temperatures (2.4 degrees celsius each) in a decade as icy winds lashing the state aggravated cold wave conditions. The Met office predicted no let up in cold wave in the state in the next couple of days.
Delhi registered the season's coldest night as mercury dipped to 3.5 degree celsius, four degrees below normal. Bureau Report