The United News of India agency, in a toll based on local authorities' figures, said 40 of the deaths occurred in the large state of Uttar Pradesh and 22 in Bihar to its east.

New Delhi registered a minimum temperature Sunday morning of 7.6 degrees Celsius (45.7 Fahrenheit). The high Saturday was 13.5 degreesFahrenheit).

The Indian capital has been enveloped in dense fog for the past week leading to the cancellation or long delays of flights and trains nearly every day.

New Delhi and other parts of India have seen light rain, with heavy snowfall in the northern reaches of the Himalayas.

The winter takes a heavy toll each year around South Asia, where homes are designed to cope with the equally deadly summers.

TERRA.WIRE