New Year cold snap kills 23 in Northern India

Villagers in drafty huts, city slum dwellers and the homeless are the hardest hit in winter in northern India states as icy winds come sweeping down from the Himalayas.

In the capital and across the region, many thousands of people can be seen huddling around roadside bonfires come nightfall, and Uttar Pradesh government is ordering that more be lit until the cold weather passes.

In parts of Uttar Pradesh, the temperature has dropped as low as 1.8 Celsius 35 Fahrenheit.

The temperature is expected to drop by another 1 or 2 degrees Celsius over the coming days, said K P Kulshreshtha, Director of the Uttar Pradesh meteorological office.

Local authorities run night shelters and charities hand out blankets during the winter season, but these measures usually fall far short of demand.