More than 100 people have died of exposure as parts of northern India endure historically cold temperatures.

Police spokesman Surendra Srivastava said at least 114 people have died from the cold in the state of Uttar Pradesh, with 23 deaths in the past 24 hours.

He said many of the victims were people living in poverty whose bodies were found on streets or in parks.

The weather department said temperatures in the state were four to 10C below normal.

Temperatures in New Delhi, which borders Uttar Pradesh, hit a high yesterday of 9.8C, the lowest maximum temperature in the capital since 1969.