LUCKNOW, Jan. 7 -- Even as most of Uttar Pradesh continued to battle extreme cold conditions, some relief, although short-lived, was likely after Thursday (January 8), weathermen said on Tuesday. "This spell of intense cold is likely to continue without any significant change across the state till January 8. Then, a short-term improvement in the cold conditions is expected due to a decrease in fog density and a rise in temperature," Atul Kumar Singh, a senior scientist at the Lucknow Met office, said. On Tuesday, Etawah, with a minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees Celsius, was the coldest district in the state for the second consecutive day. A day before, mercury stooped to a low of 2.4 degrees there. Gorakhpur (4.5), Kanpur City, (4.6), Churk and Azamgarh (both 5.2) followed. Meanwhile, Gorakhpur recorded the lowest day temperature at 11.6 degrees, which was 7.9 degrees below normal, followed by Azamgarh and Shahajhapur (12), Bareilly (12.2), Hardoi (12.6) and Etawah (12.8). "Due to the influence of cold and dry north-westerly/westerly winds coming from the snow-covered mountainous regions after the passage of the Western Disturbance, the minimum temperatures in the state have dropped significantly since January 4," said Singh. "As a result, the minimum temperatures in many parts of the state remain considerably below normal, and the dense to very dense fog is causing delayed or no sunshine. This, in turn, is leading to cold day conditions around the central parts of the state." Meanwhile, Lucknow, which was enveloped by dense fog till the afternoon, saw its day temperatures rise to the peak of 14.8 degrees (5.6 degrees below normal). On January 2, the city experienced its coldest day of the season, with the maximum temperature dropping to 14.6 degrees. Mercury fell to 7 degrees on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the state capital, which may still see dense fog and cold day conditions, may experience weather between 15 and 8 degrees Celsius, IMD said....