At least 128 people have died during a two-week-long cold spell sweeping across northern and eastern India, news reports said Sunday. Most of the deaths occurred in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, the CNN-IBN network reported. Previous reports had estimated the death toll at around 65.
Winters in India are usually short, beginning in mid-December and ending by February. However, numerous deaths are reported each year, particularly among the homeless.
Temperatures in the national capital New Delhi dropped to a six-year low of 2.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday night.