"Three more people have died died during the night," police spokesman Ghulam Abbas said in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and one of its poorest.

The state has recorded 42 deaths so far whie other northern states have reported three since the beginning of the month.

The state government has ordered authorities to organise more bonfires so that people can keep warm, a local official said.

It also asked authorities to use government schools, which have closed down for the winter vacation, as shelters for homeless people.

Early morning fog slowed down rail and road traffic in other parts of northern India on Tuesday, the weather office said.

The winter takes a heavy toll each year around South Asia as poverty forces many homeless people to sleep under the stars or in flimsy shacks.

Last year, more than 400 people died from cold in Uttar Pradesh alone.

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