Cold wave continued to sweep east and north India with Kolkata witnessing the coldest day in the last seven years. Maximum temperature dipped to 9.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal in Kolkata on Wednesday. Intense chill prevailed in Bihar with Gaya recording a minimum 3.1 degree Celsius, the lowest in the state. Severe cold wave condition prevails in Uttar Pradesh. The day’s temperature has risen by one to two degrees due to brief sunshine in certain areas but it is still 2 to 8 degrees below normal. AIR correspondent reports that nine people have succumbed to the cold during the past 24 hours.Though Delhiites woke up to the second coldest morning of the season with the minimum temperature dropping to 3.9 degree Celsius on Wednesday, a bright sunshine later in the day brought warmth and eased out a shallow fog. However, cold conditions aggravated in the neighbouring Haryana and Punjab. Jammu & Kashmir continued to reel under intense cold conditions with Leh recording a minimum of minus 17.1 degree Celsius. In Himachal Pradesh, people had to melt ice to meet their water requirements. Rajasthan got some respite from cold conditions as mercury rose by a few degrees in most parts of the state.