Toll in UP cold wave over 700

The cold wave sweeping across north India has claimed over 700 lives, with 47 more deaths being reported from different parts of Uttar Pradesh.

In Kanpur, the minimum temperature touched minus 0.5 degree Celsius early Wednesday morning and the administration ordered the closure of all schools till January 24. The schools had reopened on January 19 after being closed for 18 days due to the biting cold.

Fog covered a large part of the state, leading to disruption of air, rail and road traffic.

State meteorological office chief R K Verma said, "Two days back, there were some hopes of a change in the weather following the formation of western disturbances that could have brought rain and consequently a rise in the day temperature.

"But these western disturbances subsided, so we now rule out any let up in the freezing conditions over the next three to four days at least."

Meanwhile, after days of cold, Delhi residents breathed a sigh of relief with the sun shining brightly on Wednesday.

The capital recorded a maximum temperature of 17.8 degree Celsius and a minimum temperature of 3.7 degree Celsius, the meteorological department said.

Since the skies were clear, the flights were on time. But rail services continued to suffer with many trains running several hours late, said a railway spokesperson.