The entire northern region continues to be in the grip of severe cold wave. In Jammu and Kashmir, the temperature went down to minus in the hilly areas while in the plains of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts, the minimum temperature is ranging between one to five degree Celsius. <br/>As cold winds kept the weather chilly, there is no respite for the people of high altitudes of entire Doda belt and the schools-colleges have been closed for the winter vacations for two months. However the schools in summer zone that is relatively warmer have been closed for five days only. Despite the cold there has been no considerable decline in the pilgrimage of Mata Vaishno Devi and in the wake of snow fall the tourists are visiting Patni Top, Snnasar and other places of snow fall these days. <br/>Normal life has been affected in the hill resort of Mount Abu in Rajasthan as mercury dipped to one degree Celsius. Sriganganagar was the coldest place in the state with temperature dipping to 3.6 degrees Celsius.<br/>