As thousands of homeless people sought places in temporary shelters, more than 80 people were reported to have died due to the cold weather in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.

"We have reports that 17 people have died in the last 24 hours," K.K Sinha, a disaster management official in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, said Monday. "So far 86 people have died in the winter chill over the last week."

Local authorities have been ordered to arrange bonfires on street corners as well as shelters to save the homeless.

"Sunday was Delhi's coldest day in the last four decades and we expect a further dip in the temperature in the coming days," B.P Yadav, director of weather forecasting at the India Meteorological Department, told AFP.

The Himalayan town of Leh, in the Ladakh region of Indian Kashmir, recorded a night temperature of minus 20.2 degrees Celsius.

Most areas of northern India have ordered all schools to close until January 15.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported 11 deaths in the eastern states of Bihar and Jharkhand due to the ongoing cold wave.

Each winter, scores of homeless people in India die from cold due to lack of proper shelter, clothing and food.

earlier related report
Air France-KLM loses 70 mn euros due to snow
Paris (AFP) Jan 10, 2011 - Air France-KLM said on Monday that bad weather in December that led to the closure of airports across Europe cost the company an estimated 70 million euros ($90 million), the Franco-Dutch airline said in a statement.

"The passenger and cargo activities were each affected by the periods of heavy snowfall in December in both Europe and the United States," the airline said.

"Unit revenues rose slightly in passenger and more strongly in cargo. The impact on revenues of these weather disruptions is estimated at 70 million euros," it said.

The figure was double what the airline had forecast last month, when it forecast weather-related losses of 25-35 million euros.

Passenger numbers for the month dropped by 1.6 percent to 5.4 million, with medium-haul flights worst affected.

Aeroports de Paris (ADP), the company which runs the main French airports, has come under severe criticism for long delays and chaos for passengers at the main Paris airport Roissy Charles de Gaulle during the bad weather before Christmas.

Roissy airport is the main hub used by Air France. Another main European hub, Heathrow airport near London, has also been strongly criticised for delays and chaos.

earlier related report
Bad weather in US South disrupts air travel
Washington (AFP) Jan 9, 2011 - A massive snowstorm hit southern US states on Sunday, leading to hundreds of flight cancelations and creating hazardous driving conditions.

While Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, remained open, hundreds of flights were canceled there, local TV reported.

Delta Air Lines canceled 330 flights Sunday and was expected to ground another 1,400 Monday, the reports said. AirTran had 270 cancelations for Monday.

A heavy snowfall is also hitting Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Large sections of regional highways were blocked due to car collisions. media reports said. But no fatalities have been reported so far.

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