Srinagar, Jan.4 Moderate to heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have intensified the cold wave conditions in north India on Sunday.

About one-and-a-half feet of snow was recorded in the high altitude areas of Kashmir Valley including Baltal and Drass on Srinagar-Leh national highway since Saturday evening.

The Gulmarg ski resort received fresh snow of four to five feet.

In Jammu, three people have died of severe cold in Bharat, Gangyal and Gandhi Nagar localities, police said. The minimum temperature recorded in Sri Nagar was 0.2 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the famous Sri Vaishno Devi temple, located in Trikuta hills near Jammu, has experienced its first snowfall of the season. However, the yatra to the shrine went on uninterrupted.

On Saturday, Shimla's wait for snow ended during night while rains lashed the lower areas of Himachal Pradesh, sending the mercury down by several notches.

With three persons in Jammu and Kashmir and at least 12 persons succumbing to cold in Uttar Pradesh have taken the death toll to 46.

The weather conditions promptied closure of schools even as thick fog disrupted road, train and air traffic, giving commuters a harrowing time. Poor visibility due to fog caused a goods train to hit a stationary train in Kanpur on Sunday morning. It disrupted traffic on the Delhi-Howrah stretch.(ANI)