New Delhi: Piercing cold gripped Northern and Eastern regions claiming 27 more lives overnight as chilly winds continued to add to the woes of the people affecting normal life taking the countrywide toll to 372.

Uttar Pradesh headed the list of cold-related casualties, accounting for 217 deaths, followed by Bihar at 67.

Twenty-one more people died of cold in Uttar Pradesh, with mercury dipping to 2.8 degrees celsius in Kanpur, as fog and icy winds forced the people to remain indoors.

Four more died of exposure in Patna in Bihar, pushing the toll to 67 as cold wave conditions continued to sweep the state, though bright sunshine offered some respite to the people.

Mercury dipped to zero degree in Pilani, as cold wave intensified in Rajasthan.

While Churu recorded one degree celsius, Bharatpur, Ganganarar and Bikaner registered three degrees celsius respectively.

Freezing winds swept the Northern region, as Hisar and Ambala in Haryana shivered at 2.8 and 4.2 degrees celsius, forcing the state government to close all schools till January 17.

Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded a low of 4.6, 4.0 and 4.5 degrees celsius respectively.

Himachal Pradesh reeled under biting cold as mercury dipped to minus 0.5 degrees celsius.

Two people succumbed in Orissa as Phulbani, the district headquarter town of Khandamal was the coldest place in the state, with mercury sliding to between four and five degrees celsius.

PTI