On New Year's Day, Delhiites get respite from severe cold

It was a sunny New Year's Day in Delhi on Wednesday and the maximum temperature rose to 20.5 degrees Celsius, giving people some respite from the bone-chilling cold that persisted for over a fortnight.

Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning with the mercury dropping to 2.4 degrees Celsius, but as the day progressed temperature rose.

Both the minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to rise on Thursday too, Kuldeep Shrivastava, the head of regional weather forecasting centre, said, noting that "cold wave" is on the wane.

Light rain are also expected on Thursday, he said.

On New Year's Day, the minimum temperature was recorded at 2.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, while the maximum settled at 20.5 degrees Celsius, a Meteorological Department official said.

On Saturday too, the national capital had recorded a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.

The city was wrapped in a cover of moderate fog with 29 trains being delayed by two to nine hours due to reduced visibility, officials said.

The humidity level ranged from maximum 100 percent to lowest 49 percent, he said.

The air quality in the national capital at 9.38 am on Wednesday was recorded at 433 in the "severe" category. It improved a little bit in the evening showing air quality index at 431 at 7 PM.

The MeT department has forecast strong surface wind and light rain on Thursday.

"The day will be generally cloudy with possibility of very light rain or drizzle. Strong surface wind will sweep the city in the daytime. The maximum and minimum temperatures would hover around 6 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively," said the MeT official.

December 2019 recorded 18 consecutive 'cold days' or an 18-day 'cold spell', the maximum after 17 cold days in December 1997.

The maximum temperature in Delhi took a big tumble on Monday to settle at 9.4 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest December day since 1901.