NEW DELHI - Japan braced for more snow on Monday after record falls that have already killed dozens and Indian officials closed schools in the capital as an unusually severe winter racks Asia.
The dead in Japan included elderly people who fell as they tried to clear heavy snow from rooftops, as well as people crushed when their snow-laden homes collapsed.
The death toll across northern Japan stood at 70, with seven deaths since Sunday, the Kyodo news agency said. More than 1,000 people have been injured.
Blue skies were seen over some coastal areas, but more snow was expected in the north on Tuesday. Troops were called in to clear snow from rooftops in Akita City, on the northeastern coast of Honshu.
New Delhi saw its coldest winter morning in 70 years on Sunday as the temperature plummeted to 0.2 degrees Celsius (32.4 Fahrenheit).
Despite a bright sun, cold northerly winds kept temperatures low, and authorities closed all primary schools until Tuesday.
"It is very good that schools are closed as it will prevent children from falling sick," Nilakshi Bhattacharyya, mother of a seven-year-old, told Reuters.
The coldest place in India in the past 24 hours was Pilani in the western desert state of Rajasthan where the mercury dipped to minus 2 Celsius (6 degrees below normal), officials said. Forecasters predicted more cold, with widespread frost and fog.
Many flights and trains in and out of Delhi were delayed by early morning fog.
KASHMIR HIT HARD
In divided Kashmir, devastated by a deadly earthquake in October that killed more than 74,000, the icy weather was severe.
Indian-held Kashmir's Dal Lake - a major tourist draw in the centre of the summer capital, Srinagar - was covered in thick ice for the first time in more than a decade and icicles hung from houses.
"The cold is penetrating," said Ghulam Mohideen, a vegetable seller. "My seven-year-old child has had his fingers and toes frozen for the first time."
Officials in the north of Pakistani Kashmir, where thousands are homeless after the quake, said up to 47 people had died from pneumonia in the past few weeks.
In Nepal, at least three people have died due to freezing conditions, the media reported.
In China, about 30,000 herdsmen stranded by heavy snowfall in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang were moved to safety along with more than 60,000 head of livestock, the China Daily newspaper reported.
Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong, also experienced unusually cold weather with weekend temperatures falling to around six degrees Celsius, the Xinhua news agency said.
The agency reported a spike in colds and respiratory complaints.
In Bangladesh, 13 people had died due to the cold in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 33 since last Thursday, officials there said.
Story by Palash Kumar
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
