New Delhi: Cold wave worsened in Northern, Central and Eastern regions taking the toll to 181 as mercury continued to dip at several places affecting normal life.

Uttar Pradesh bore the brunt with 125 deaths as four more died in Allahabad with dense fog affecting road and rail traffic in the district.

Mercury slid to 3.2 degree Celsius in Kanpur with icy winds forcing the people to remain indoors.

Vehicular traffic and trains were affected by dense fog and most trains were running four to 10 hours behind schedule in the city.

In Bihar, the death toll mounted to 23 as 12 more died due to piercing cold and temperature further dipped to 8.1 degrees Celsius.

Four people deaths were reported from Malda, as West Bengal reeled under severe cold with mercury plunging to near zero in the hilly areas and hovering around 11 degree Celsius in Kolkata.

PTI