Bone-chilling cold continued to sting east and north India on Tuesday with the mercury nosediving to seven-year lowest in Kolkata and killing 13 more people in Uttar Pradesh.
West Bengal capital Kolkata recorded a low of 9.9 degree Celsius -- the lowest in seven years, while hill station Darjeeling at -1.0 deg C was the coldest in the state.
Kolkata had recorded minimum 9.4 deg C on January 6, 2004.
A cold wave alert has been sounded in 10 districts in the state.
Severe cold conditions claimed 13 more lives in Uttar Pradesh, taking the statewide toll to 100 this winter.
While three deaths each were reported from Barabanki and Balrampur districts, two were reported from Kaushambi and one each from Chitrakoot, Basti, Orai, Sant Kabirnagar and Bareilly.
Agra at minimum 1 deg C was the coldest place in the state.
Lucknow recorded a minimum of 1.4 deg C, six notches below normal, while Varanasi recorded a low of 2.7 deg C, six degrees below normal.
Kanpur shivered at minimum 2.2 deg C, while it was 4.8 deg C in Allahabad.
Chill intensified in Bihar as north-westerly winds continued to sweep the region, prompting the state government to announce closure of all schools till January 14.
Gaya at minimum 3.9 deg C was the coldest in the state.
The minimum temperature in state capital Patna settled at 5.5 deg C as against 8.5 deg C recorded yesterday.
Elsewhere, Purnia recorded a low of 5.9 deg C, while it was 7.2 deg C in Bhagalpur.
Low temperature coupled with icy winds made life miserable for the people in Delhi where the minimum temperature settled below the normal level.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 4.6 deg C, two degrees below normal for this time of the year.
However, there was no dense fog in the city and flight operations were normal at the IGI airport.
Kashmir Valley received a fresh spell of snowfall even as the minimum temperature across the region rose by several degrees.
Other than Qazigund, snowfall was recorded in the entire Valley which lasted a couple of hours.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar increased by two degrees to settle at zero deg C.
Kupwara district in north Kashmir also recorded an increase of four degrees in the minimum temperature with the mercury settling at zero deg C.
Ladakh region continued to reel under an intense cold wave even as the minimum temperature in Leh town appreciated by five notches to settle at -15.2 deg C.
Mercury plunged by 0.2 deg C in Kargil which recorded a low of -16 deg C.
Gulmarg skiing resort at -8.7 deg C was the coldest place in Kashmir Valley.
Elsewhere, Pahalgam recorded a low of -5.6 deg C, Qazigund 3.6 deg C and Kokernag -3.9 deg C.
There was some respite from intense cold conditions in Rajasthan as mercury rose by a few degrees in most parts of the state.
Sriganganagar at minimum 0.4 deg C was the coldest in the state.
Mount Abu recorded a low of 0.8 deg C as against -4.2 deg C recorded the previous day, while the minimum temperature in Churu was 1.3 deg C as against 0.4 deg C the day before.
There was no relief from the biting chill prevailing in Punjab and Haryana with minimum temperatures in most parts of the states plunging down to three points below normal.
Mercury hovered between 1 and 3 deg C below normal in most parts of the region and a thick blanket of fog continued to play havoc, reducing visibility which resulted in late running of several trains.
Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest place in the plains of the region with a low of 1.4 deg C, two notches below normal.
While Narnaul in Haryana shivered at a low of 2 deg C, three notches below normal, the minimum temperature at Hisar was 2.5 deg C, also three points below normal.
However, bright sunshine in Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, provided some relief from foggy weather that had been prevailing in the city for the past few days.
The mega city recorded minimum 3.7 deg C, one notch below normal.
The cold wave sweeping high altitude areas in Himachal Pradesh continued unabated, even as day temperatures rose marginally in mid and lower hills.
Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti and and Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded minimum -14 deg C and -4.8 deg C respectively.
Elsewhere, Bhuntar recorded a low of 0.2 deg C, Sundernagar 0.9 deg C and 1.2 deg C in Solan.
The state capital Shimla recorded a low of 4.8 deg C.