Soaking up the sun: Delhi's day temperature rises to 20.6 degrees C

Delhi experienced a day full of bright sunshine on Friday which put an end to a streak of damp and cloudy days.

The Safdarjung Observatory, considered the official marker for the city, recorded a maximum temperature of 20.6 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. It was after 19 days that the mercury crossed the 20 degree-Celsius mark in Delhi.

The minimum temperature settled at 6.4 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal.

Day temperatures are likely to rise to 22 to 23 degrees Celsius in the next few days while night temperatures may rise to 10 to 11 degrees Celsius over the next few days, the weather department said.

The capital had been recording below normal maximum temperatures since the second week of January. The minimum temperatures have been close to or above normal.

There have been seven western disturbances in Delhi this January as against a normal of three to four in the month.

Rains due to the western disturbances increased moisture in the air which led to foggy conditions amid low temperatures on most days.

According to the India Meteorological Department, Delhi recorded "very low" sunshine between January 7 and January 25.

The IMD data showed Delhi has recorded seven cold days in January so far, the highest in the month in at least a decade.

Senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said Delhi has recorded a maximum temperature of less than 17 degrees Celsius on 13 days this month, the highest since 2003 which had seen 18 such days.

Delhi had seen the coldest January day in nine years on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature plunging 10 notches below the normal and settling at 12.1 degrees Celsius.

Before this, January 3, 2013, had experienced a maximum temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

The capital also recorded 82.2 mm of rainfall this January, the highest in the month in 122 years.