Cold claims 14 more lives

Fourteen people have died in the past 24 hours as intense cold continues to grip the state. Four deaths were reported from Deoria,two each from Kushinagar and Gonda,and one each from Kaushambi,Shrawasti,Kanpur dehat,Siddhartnagar,Firozabad and Mahrajganj districts of the state. The latest figures have taken the city’s toll to 428,said reports.

Churk in Mirzapur district,which recorded a minimum temperature of 3.2 degree Celsius was the coldest in the state,followed by Varanasi where the mercury level dipped to 5.2 degree Celsius. Allahabad recorded a minimum of 6.2 degree Celsius while Kanpur was at 7.1 degree Celsius,Met officials said. The maximum temperature in Allahabad was 11.7 degree Celsius,around 12 degrees below normal while Gorakhpur and Bahraich recorded 12.2 and 12.4 degrees Celsius each,both marking a drop of 11 degrees Celsius.

Lucknow recorded a maximum of 16.8 degree Celsius,six degrees below normal,said the Met officials. The weather is likely to remain cold in the coming days,said officials,adding that fog condition will also prevail.