North India continued to reel under severe cold wave. The biting cold has claimed 12 lives, all in Uttar Pradesh, during the past 24 hours. State government has closed all schools and colleges up to 12th standard till Sunday due cold wave and foggy weather. Train, road and air services continued to be affected in the state due to fog. The national capital remained under the grip of a cold wave with the mercury dropping to 4.2 deg C, three degrees below normal. The maximum temperature was 13 degrees, eight degrees below normal. The Delhi government has also ordered closure of all schools in the capital till Sunday.The cold wave has intensified in Jammu and Kashmir division as the minimum temperature across the state dipped several degrees further. Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 7.1 degree Celsius yesterday, which was lower than the day temperature of Srinagar. In Srinagar city, the minimum temperature dipped by 1.3 deg C to settle at minus 5.4 deg C. Several places in Punjab and Haryana were under a thick fog cover that hit movement of flights to and from Chandigarh and affected vehicular traffic and trains in large parts of the two states. Chandigarh recorded its coldest day ever yesterday, making it colder than Srinagar and Shimla. Icy wind sent the maximum temperature in Chandigarh plummeting to 7.4 deg C, down by a record 14 degrees below normal. Severe cold waves continued to sweep Rajasthan while thick fog engulfed the region following which several flights were delayed. Mount Abu recorded a night temperature of minus 4 deg C, while Bikaner recorded the lowest in plain at 1.2 deg C.Madhya Pradesh government has closed all schools upto eighth standard till the 16th of this month due to cold wave sweeping the state.