The death toll from cold weather in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has doubled to 48 in the past 24 hours.
"The chill took a fresh toll of 24 over the past 24 hours during which heavy rain lashed large parts of the state," said a home department spokesman in the country's most populous state.
He said the previous death toll had been 24 and that the temperature had dropped to 6.5 degrees Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the state.
Rain, heat and cold weather kill thousands of poor people, many of whom sleep on pavements and streets in urban India.
State authorities have arranged for a bonfires at various points along the roads in a number of cities.
In May last year, more than 1,000 died due to an intense heat wave in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh as the country grappled with temperatures in the range of 45 to 48 degrees Celsius.