Lucknow, Jan 14 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh continued to shiver in the intense cold Tuesday, as the minimum temperature here dropped to 5.6 degrees Celsius Monday - the coldest day this winter.

Monday was the coldest day in the state capital with the maximum temperatures dropping to below 13 degrees Celsius, a whopping 6 degrees below normal. Icy winds in the state added to the winter chill.

The minimum temperatures fell by three degrees to settle at 5.6 degrees.

A weather official, however, has forecast a fog-free Makar Sankranti Tuesday when lakhs of people will take a dip in the state's holy rivers.

Met Office director J.P. Gupta told IANS the weather would remain unchanged for the next 48 hours, and the city and the nearby areas are likely to experience moderate to heavy rainfall Jan 17-18.

Over two dozen trains were running several hours behind the schedule, a senior railways official said.

He added that the 20 passenger trains which were cancelled earlier this month due to fear of fog would not be given green signal till the weather clears.

The morning flights' schedule remained unchanged as the visibility improved here Tuesday, an official at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Amausi airport said.