In PHOTOS: Deadly DEEP FREEZE grips north India

The cold tightened its grip on Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury plummeted by eight degrees in Leh in Ladakh region to register the season's lowest temperature and most parts of the Valley froze in sub-zero temperatures.

Leh recorded a minimum temperature of minus 14.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, against minus 6.3 degrees Celsius the previous night, an official of the meteorological department said in Srinagar. It was the coldest night of the winter so far in the frontier town. No fresh rains or snowfall was reported from any part of the Valley, the official said.

The nearby Kargil town registered a drop of over two notches in the night temperature as the minimum settled at minus 8.9 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 6.8 degrees Celsius, he said.

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Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a low of 1.8 degree Celsius, over a degree up from 0.6 degree Celsius the previous night.

The famous ski-resort of Gulmarg registered a low of minus 7.4 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 9.3 degrees Celsius the previous night.

The mercury in Pahalgam hill resort, which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, settled at a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius, a drop of one degree from the previous night's minus 1.4 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the Kashmir Valley, recorded a low of 0.2 degree Celsius, same as the previous night.

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Kokernag, in south Kashmir, which recorded a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius the previous night, registered a low of minus 0.2 degree Celsius last night.

Kupwara, in north Kashmir, recorded a minimum of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius compared to minus 1.1 degree Celsius the previous night.

The high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir experienced snowfall for three days from December 21, the day when the 'Chillai-Kalan', considered as the harshest 40-day winter period, started.

Snowfall ranging between one feet to four feet was reported from the high altitude areas including the famous cave shrine of Amarnath over the three days, while the plains received light snowfall and rains.

The MeT department has said the weather in the Valley would mainly remain dry for the next 24 hours.

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Freezing cold waves swept most places in Punjab and Haryana as minimum temperature further dipped with Adampur reeling at minus 1.2 degree Celsius.

Adampur in Punjab was the coldest place in the two states recording five degrees below normal minimum.

Amritsar, too, braved a cold night at 2.2 degrees Celsius, down two notches. Ludhiana's minimum settled three degrees below normal at 3.6 degrees Celsius, while Patiala recorded a low of 6.2 degrees Celsius, the MeT office said.

Piercing cold also further intensified across Haryana, with Narnaul turning out to be the coldest place in the state at a minimum of 1.8 degree Celsius, four notches below normal. Hisar's low of 2.1 degrees Celsius was five notches below normal, while biting cold swept Bhiwani at 2.8 degrees Celsius, also down five degrees.

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Karnal, too, experienced a cold night at 4.4 degrees Celsius, down four notches while Ambala registered a low of 6.6 degrees Celsius.

Chandigarh was also under the grip of cold weather conditions recording a low of 5.8 degrees Celsius. However, a bright sun greeted the residents in Chandigarh for the second consecutive day today after days of foggy weather.

A MeT official said that fog had lifted from most places in the two states barring Ludhiana and Adampur, though misty conditions prevailed this morning at a few places. He said that cold weather conditions would continue in the region during the next few days.

Cold waves and dense fog continued across Rajasthan where Churu was the coldest place with a low of 1.5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

The biting cold has disrupted the normal life affecting movement of trains and vehicular traffic in the state for the last few days.

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Mercury fell in several parts of the Uttar Pradesh with Najibabad recording the lowest night temperature at 6 degrees Celsius.

Night temperatures fell appreciably in Varanasi, Faizabad,  Allahabad, Lucknow, Moradabad, Jhansi divisions and fell in Gorakhpur and Kanpur divisions.

Mercury fell in several parts of the Uttar Pradesh with Najibabad recording the lowest night temperature at 6 degrees Celsius.

Night temperatures fell appreciably in Varanasi, Faizabad,  Allahabad, Lucknow, Moradabad, Jhansi divisions and fell in Gorakhpur and Kanpur divisions.