LUCKNOW, Dec. 31 -- Minimum temperatures in several districts plummeted sharply during the last 24 hours as cold wave gripped Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur and Lucknow shivered on Tuesday, recording the season's lowest minimum temperatures so far at 4.4 degrees and 7.1 degrees Celsius, respectively. Similarly, Fursatganj recorded a minimum of 5.2 degrees, Barabanki and Etawah 6.6 degrees and Prayagraj 6.4 degrees, which was the lowest in five years. In 2021, the night temperature in Sangam City plummeted to 5.2 degrees. The visibility was zero in Agra, Prayagraj (IAF) and Saharanpur because of severe dense fog. Varanasi, Jhansi had 50m visibility while Lucknow (airport) recorded 150-metre visibility. However, Tuesday afternoon was relatively better in Lucknow as the day temperature rose by a notch to 18.5 degrees, from 17.1 degrees a day before. Furthermore, due to the activity of Western Disturbance, light rainfall is expected in some parts of the northwestern region of the state on January 1, and a gradual increase in temperature of 3-5degC on average is expected over the next 3-4 days. This will likely lead to a weakening of cold-day conditions in the state from January 1. Meanwhile, Lucknow on Tuesday again recorded a poor AQI, crossing the 200 mark and recording 201, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Previously, the city had recorded poor AQI on December 22. Gomti Nagar, Aliganj (Kendriya Vidyalaya), Lalbagh and Talkatora monitoring stations recorded poor readings of 229, 262, 209, and 296. HTC...