Thirteen people have died till now due to the cold wave sweeping Uttar Pradesh over the past three days.

The minimum temperature in many places dipped down to 7 degree Celsius, a state home department spokesman said.

"There is no mechanism to determine that a particular death has occurred due to the cold wave, but generally unclaimed dead bodies without any external injury marks are believed to be the result of the extreme cold," he said.

The spokesman said that the government provides bonfire in public places and roadsides for the benefit of the homeless, but admitted that this was "grossly inadequate".

Three deaths had occurred in Lucknow. Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar and Jhansi had each witnessed two deaths, while one each was recorded in Deoria and Unnao.