While six people lost their lives in Balrampur, two each died in Fatehpur and Basti and one each in Gonda and Shravasti.

A thick layer of fog marred visibility till late afternoon, adversely affecting rail and road traffic and leaving passengers stranded at bus and railway stations.

In the wake of intense cold wave conditions prevailing in Lucknow, Chief Minister Mayawati issued instructions on Sunday to close all schools in the city for the next three days.

“All private and government schools till Intermediate will remain closed due to cold wave and fog till Wednesday. Any school found violating the instructions will be strictly penalised,” said a senior government official.

Several flights, meanwhile, were delayed because of intense fog conditions on Sunday. A Jetlite flight for Delhi, which was scheduled to depart at 10.30 am, could take off only around 4.40 pm.

On Sunday, while the minimum temperature dipped to 4.2 degrees Celsius from 9 degrees on Saturday, the maximum fell to 14.7 degree Celsius to 17.2 degrees.

The cold wave is likely to continue for another couple of days, said a Met official.