Cold wave kills at least 115 in northern India

LUCKNOW, India -- Severe cold in Northern India has killed at least 115 people in the last nine days, officials said Tuesday.

The death toll was highest in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, with 104 victims.

Temperatures in the capital Lucknow were the coldest, at 38.1 degrees Fahrenheit, said weather official A. K. Verma.

Temperatures were expected to drop further as the cold wave continued for a few more days.

Such cold can be fatal in impoverished India, where millions of people live without heat, electricity and warm clothing, often sleeping in the open or on hard ground.

Officials said 11 people had died in neighboring Bihar state, but newspapers put the total at 80.

The death toll in Uttar Pradesh also could be higher than official counts, as news of fatalities was still coming in from remote rural districts, newspapers said.

Schools in both states were ordered closed until Monday.

Bihar authorities were ordered to light bonfires at public places and use schools and government buildings as homeless shelters, said state aid official Navin Verma.

Officials in Uttar Pradesh have started supplying wood for bonfires on street corners in all major cities.

Private groups are distributing blankets and plastic sheeting.