At least 26 people have died in a cold wave sweeping¹ through northern India, the country's state broadcaster Doordarshan News says.

印度国家广播电视台全印新闻称，席卷北部地区的寒潮造成至少26人死亡。

The majority of deaths have happened in the state of Uttar Pradesh, according to media reports.

Scores die in India every year, being ill-equipped to deal with extreme cold.

Last week the country's Supreme² Court ordered states to provide adequate night shelters for the homeless during the ongoing³ winter.

"You should not allow even a single person to die this winter from the freezing cold," the judges said. Most deaths take place among the homeless and elderly.

Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are among the northern states which have been hit by intensely cold weather.

Heavy fog and a cold wave have disrupted life across northern India with temperatures dropping to 2.2 degrees Celsius⁴ in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

The capital Delhi is also in the throes（痛苦的挣扎） of a cold snap with temperatures dipping to 5 degree Celcius and fog disrupting flight schedules.

The cold wave has forced schools shut in the state of Bihar till 25 December, reports said.

Water supply pipes in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, froze as temperatures plummeted⁵ to 2.8 degrees Celcius.

Last year a cold snap in northern India killed several people, shut schools and disrupted flights. The highway linking Kashmir with the rest of India was also shut due to snowfall.