Lucknow, Dec 19 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh capital witnessed a foggy Tuesday morning as the cold wave intensified in the state, the Met office said.

However, the day and night temperatures have so far been hovering around the average.

Dense fog covered the city and the neighbouring areas slowing down rail, vehicular and air traffic.

"The sky will clear soon and there would be better visibility," Regional Met Office Director J.P. Gupta said.

The day is however set to be windy and the office has forecast winds of around 25-30 km per hour, which will add to the chill.

The minimum temperature recorded here was 9.4 degrees Celsius while the maximum is likely to hover around 21 degrees Celsius.

Many other major cities including Kanpur, Varanasi, Rae Bareli, Sitapur are also reeling under a fresh spell of cold.

Gorakhpur recorded 10 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature, Kanpur at 11, Allahabad at 9 and Varanasi at 8.4 degrees Celsius.

Fog were also reported from Barabanki, Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraich, Basti and Balrampur.

District Magistrate of Bareilly has ordered closure of schools for the next three days.