Winter bites hard in northern India by Jo Farrow
Almost a week of near-freezing temperatures has taken its toll in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Three homeless people lost their lives on Tuesday night, bringing the total deaths from the current cold spell to 16.
Thousands of people in populous Uttar Pradesh are homeless, sleeping under bridges for shelter or out in the open. Loss of life from exposure to the cold is common in winter, and some 400 people lost their lives last year alone. Welfare officials light bonfires at major road junctions in an effort to provide some warmth to the “pavement dwellers”.
The temperature dropped to 4°C (39°F) in parts of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday night. This came after Monday was reported to be the coldest day for six years in New Delhi, India’s capital city.
Further north in the Himalayan province of Jammu-Kashmir temperatures have plummeted to -6°C (21°F), and icy winds have been blowing through the Kashmir valley for nearly a week. Forecasters are warning that temperatures may continue to fall over the next few days, and further snow is expected in the higher reaches of the Himalayas over the next 48 hours.
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