Chilly New Year's Eve in Delhi, rain likely

Delhi continued to be chilly on New Year's Eve Tuesday, with the minimum temperature recorded at 4 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average. The weatherman has forecast light rain during the day.

"The day will remain cloudy with light rain expected," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Even though the temperature Tuesday was a little higher than Monday's lowest of 2.4 degrees Celsius, some people were disappointed that it was going to be a chilly New Year's Eve, while some were excited about it.

"Monday night was terribly cold. I just hope that the day becomes fine and there is no rain. Rain will spoil my New Year plans," Reshma Soni, an employee at Ernst and Young, told IANS.

The national capital recorded rainfall of 6.4 mm since Monday.

"I am simply in love with the weather here. I going to go out and roam. It is like the ones that we experience in London," said Prakash Sharma, who has come to Delhi to celebrate New Year's Eve with his family.

"The weather here is fit to stay indoors and enjoy a hot cup of coffee. So I gave my office a miss," said Sarthak Jagiya who works with an IT firm in Noida.

Traffic was also thinner on the usually crowded arterial roads.

Flights operated as normal but Northern Railway reported cancellation of four trains, while 12 trains en-route to Delhi were delayed.

The day's maximum temperature is likely to hover around 19 degrees Celsius.

Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 95 percent.

Monday's maximum temperature was recorded at 19.7 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season's average, while the minimum temperature settled at 2.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below the season's average.