Temperatures in the Indian capital were as low as six degrees and in the northernmost territory of Jammu and Kashmir, drinking water pipes froze as temperatures plummeted to minus four degrees.

A common sight was of people sitting around fires, wearing woollens, to warm themselves.

While wintry temperatures in South Asia are mild compared to Europe, they can at times prove deadly in India, where thousands of homeless live in shacks without heat.

(Inputs from Reuters)