New Delhi - More than 150 people have died in a cold wave sweeping across northern and eastern India and dense fog disrupted air and rail services, reports said Tuesday.

Sixteen more people died in intense cold or fog-related accidents in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, taking the region's death toll for the month to 140, the Times of India said.

Temperatures reached a low of 0.5 degrees Celsius in the state's Sonbhadra district.

Twelve more cold-related deaths were reported from the eastern state of Bihar, national capital Delhi and neighbouring Haryana state, reports said.

Thick fog at the Delhi airport led to delays of about 100 flights and cancellations of 16 more, broadcaster NDTV reported. About 100 trains were running late due to low visibility.

Winters in India are brief, beginning in December and ending by February, but cause many deaths in the country that is better prepared for its long, hot summers.

Those headed out to celebrate New Year's Eve may want to bundle up as arctic air affects much of the nation. The worst of the cold will focus on the Rocky Mountains and northern Plains, but temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing across a majority of the nation on Wednesday night.

"Temperatures will plunge well below zero from portions of the Dakotas and northern Minnesota at night through the end of 2014," said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. AccuWeather.com RealFeel® Temperatures will be even lower, dropping below zero in cities such as Denver and Chicago.

Florida will be one of the only spots in the entire country to evade the freezing weather with lows in the 60s in Orlando and Miami. Folks headed to outdoor venues to ring in the new year, such as Times Square in New York City, will want to dress warm to stay protected from the cold weather.

The death toll of a cold spell in northern and eastern India has reportedly exceeded 130.The cold snap in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has disrupted rail and air transportation, media reported on Monday.

However, Uttar Pradesh Secretary and Relief Commissioner Leena Johri has not confirmed the number of fatalities. Citing authorities, Johri said there has been no report of death due to cold wave.

Meanwhile, Delhi-based All India Radio (AIR) reported that severe cold weather and fog has caused accidents which claimed the lives of 25 people in Uttar Pradesh during the weekend.

In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, as well as neighboring northern state of Haryana, and Bihar, a state in east India, 12 cold-related deaths were reported.

Foggy conditions caused serious disruption in air and rail transportation.

Some 137 flights were delayed and 14 more canceled at Delhi airport. The fog and low visibility have caused delays in 78 train departures as well.

The potentially deadly winters in India are short and last only from December to February.

A cold winter storm is bearing down on Arizona, which means possible rain for the Phoenix metro area and snow in the high country. The system will bring some "bitterly cold" air down from the northwest, according to 3TV meteorologist April Warnecke. It also will pick up some moisture as it heads our way. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for much of the state beginning tonight and running into late Thursday.

Rain could start in the Valley Wednesday morning. Snow could start in the high country as early as Tuesday night. According to the National Weather Service, widespread snow will increase from west to east across northern Arizona on Wednesday, with the heaviest snowfall expected Wednesday evening.

Snow levels could fall to 2,000 feet and a dusting is still possible Thursday morning in those higher elevations near the Valley like Cave Creek and Wickenburg.

A storm and cold air forecast to develop at the end of 2014 and linger into the start of 2015 will deliver snow, rain and a frost or freeze to portions of California. The coldest air of the winter months so far will settle over California during the middle and latter part of this week.

At the same time, a storm will form nearby and bring snow and slippery travel to the passes and high deserts of California. While temperatures are not forecast to drop to record-low territory for much of the state, the air will get cold enough long enough to bring a frost and freeze to the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, as well as part of the central coast of California.

As cold air continues to plunge southward in the West, a storm will produce rare New Year's Eve and New Year's Day snow for Las Vegas, the Mojave Desert and the mountains in the region.

Pack some warm clothes and perhaps winter boots if you are heading to the Southwest for the New Year's holiday. Motorists heading over the mountains should expect delays due to snow-covered roads.

Soon after snow falls on parts of the central Rockies and Plains, a new winter storm will develop over the Southwest states.

The storm will bring snow to not only the mountains of the Four Corner states, Nevada and Southern California, but also some low-elevation locations in the region that rarely receive accumulating snow.

Las Vegas, which averages about 0.3 of an inch of snow per year, is forecast to receive 1-3 inches of snow during Tuesday night into Thursday morning.

According to the Las Vegas National Weather Service Office, there have only been 15 snowstorms that brought greater than 1 inch of snow. Records have been kept since 1937.

If 0.1 of an inch of snow or more falls on Las Vegas on Wednesday, it will become the snowiest New Year's Eve in the city's record.

The last and only snowstorm on record during New Year's Day around Las Vegas was in 1974, when accumulations ranged from 2 to 5.5 inches in the area. The official New Year's Day record for McCarran International Airport is 4.4 inches.

"Unusually cold air will target the southwestern U.S. by midweek. Las Vegas has not seen measurable snow since Dec. 17, 2008, when 3.6 inches of snow fell," said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel.

One 29-year-old man was found dead in the northern city of Douai on Saturday and two others died on Sunday, one 50-year-old man in Paris and a Belgian 46-year-old in south-eastern France.

All three apparently died of hypothermia, according to authorities.

After an unusually warm spell of weather, France has been gripped by a sudden freeze in the past few days, with the mercury dropping to minus 14C (7F) and as low as minus 22 in the mountains.

French authorities said they had offered the 29-year-old man emergency accommodation but he had "systematically declined the offer".

The 50-year-old Parisian had also been approached by authorities. He was found in a state of hypothermia and died when receiving first aid.

Over the past month a record number of sea turtles, most of which have been critically endangered Kemp's Ridley Turtles, have been rescued from stranding on the beaches of Cape Cod in New England, reports the Massachusett Audobon Society.

Normally, around 90 sea turtles strand on the Cape on their migration from the beaches of Mexico to Cape Cod Bay.

Sea turtles spend the warmer months in Cape Cod waters, then swim south to Mexico for the winter each autumn beginning in November. But some turtles get "caught" by the hook of Cape Cod.

Sea turtles that take their body temperature from the environment around them and when the water temperature of the Bay gets down to 50 degrees F they become cold-stunned.

Snow and icy weather swept through parts of Europe on Saturday, stranding drivers overnight and leaving thousands of homes without power in Britain.

Snow also covered parts of Switzerland and southwestern Germany, and more than 20 centimeters (nearly eight inches) of snow has fallen in higher parts of Germany's Black Forest.

Many motorists in Britain were forced to abandon their cars or were trapped in vehicles for hours after becoming snowed in. Dozens of people traveling from Sheffield to London spent the night in a church after their bus became stuck.

Parts of northern England saw 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) of snow. Western Power Distribution said 36,000 customers were without power, and another 69,000 had short interruptions to supplies. Staff worked through the night to reconnect customers, but thousands in the East Midlands region were still affected.

Liverpool's John Lennon Airport and Leeds Bradford International closed late Friday as workers cleared snow from the runways. The airports have reopened.

British weather forecasts predict more snow showers, mainly in the north, though the main threat would be ice on roads.

Snow and ice in the French Alps have stranded 15,000 vehicles, snarling up holiday traffic to and from ski resorts, French media report.

The country declared an orange weather alert, its second-highest, as local authorities scrambled to put up motorists for the night.

One man died when his vehicle slid into a ravine in the Isere region.

The government asked drivers to "exercise the utmost caution" and avoid travel if possible.

Three people died in other snow-related incidents across France earlier this week, according to French daily Le Monde.