The cold wave sweeping northern India tightened its grip in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and parts of Himachal Pradesh. Dense fog forced the Indian Railways to cancel 22 trains, and reschedule another eight. It also delayed 45 north-bound trains.<br/><br/>Delhi recorded the season's lowest minimum temperature at 4.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below the average, the Met office in the national capital said.<br/><br/>The night temperature in Srinagar slipped to the season's lowest at minus 6.2 degree Celsius, a MeT department official said in Srinagar. Dal Lake partially froze, but a bright sunshine through the day defroze the popular lake's surface. Elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley, the minimum temperature stayed several degrees below the freezing point.<br/><br/>Biting cold conditions persisted in parts of Himachal Pradesh. The high-altitude tribal areas groaned as the minimum temperature in the hills ranged between minus 13 and minus 20 degree Celsius.Una recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 25.8C.<br/><br/>Punjab, Haryana and their common capital Chandigarh remained under the grip of intense cold conditions. Narnaul recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the states at 0.2 Celsius. The minimum temperature remained up to five degrees below the normal in parts of Punjab and Haryana, the MeT office in Chandigarh said.<br/><br/>In the desert-state Rajasthan, the minimum temperature has dipped in most places. Except western districts of the state, the minimum temperature was recorded below 8 degree Celsius yesterday. In Fatehpur of Sikar district, mercury remained below the freezing point. Bhilwara, Alwar, Churu, Sikar, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh and Pilani districts reeled under the cold wave.<br/><br/>In Uttar Pradesh, the Met office in Lucknow said the day temperature fell markedly in Bareilly division. The lowest minimum temperature in the state was in Meerut at 2.9C.<br/><br/>Eastern India is also reeling under severe cold conditions.<br/><br/>Bhagalpur in Bihar was coldest place with at 4 degree Celsius. The Met office in Patna said the minimum temperature in Bhagalpur was eight notches below the normal. <br/><br/>State Disaster Management Minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav said all district authorities had been directed to make arrangements for bonfire at public places including bus stands and railway stations.<br/><br/>In Jharkhand, Palamu was coldest place in the state with 4.5C. In Odisha, the hill station Daringbadi registered a minimum temperature of 4C, the Met office in Bhubaneswar said.<br/><br/>Coochbehar in sub-Himalayan West Bengal recorded the lowest temperature in the state at 5.8C. Met office in Kolkata forecast cold conditions to continue for two days in the state. It said that the temperature was likely to remain 3-6 notches below the normal in the state.<br/><br/>In Maharastra, the people of Nanded are reeling under the cold wave that has been sweeping across the district for last six days with the mercury hovering at around 10 to 13 degrees Celsius.<br/><br/>