The winter has been so severe in Uttar Pradesh that some parts of the state have turned colder than Shimla and Srinagar.

"While Kanpur, which is about 80km from Lucknow, continued to record temperatures between zero and nine degrees Celsius, Shimla recorded a minimum of three degrees and a maximum of 13 degrees over the same period," state meteorological office chief R K Verma said.

The temperature in Srinagar ranged between three and 12 degrees Celsius, which was about the same as in Lucknow over the past three days.

"Kanpur has emerged as one of the coldest cities in the country. It is experiencing such low temperatures after a gap of 37 years," Verma said.

He attributed the severity to 'dry icy winds coming all the way from Siberia, besides heavy snowfall in the Himalayan belt'.

He ruled out the possibility of any change in the weather over the next few days.

Braving this bitter chill are thousands of people who spend nights under the skies.

The administration has failed to do anything substantial to help the common man withstand the freezing weather. "We have arranged for bonfires at several places," said Lucknow District Magistrate Navneet Sehgal.

However, it is clear that these arrangements are grossly inadequate.

"I am used to sleeping on pavements with trees for shelter. But this time the cold is rather unbearable," said Sai Saran (35), a labourer from neighbouring Barabanki district.

"We have no choice but to brave it out under the skies," said Raghunath, a scantily covered rickshaw puller from Basti district, about 220km from Lucknow.

His colleague Banwari has found a novel way to fight the chill. "I ply my rickshaw at night. The cycling keeps me warm," he said.

More reports from Uttar Pradesh