A bright sunny day brought respite to people in Delhi today from the biting cold despite mercury recording the lowest of the month while dense fog brought down visibility to less than 50 metres in the morning.
The maximum temperature settled two notches below the season's average at 18.3 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 4 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal, making it the coldest day of the month so far.
"It is lowest of the month so far. In previous years, the minimum temperature has been recorded less than 4 degrees in January," said R K Jenamani, Director, MeT department, IGIA.
Dense foggy conditions were witnessed between 7 AM and 9 AM which led to the cancellation of 8 trains including Poorva Express, Shaheed Express and Mahananda Express. Apart from that 24 trains were rescheduled and 49 delayed.
Flight operations remained smooth.
According to the MeT, visibility dropped to less than 50 metres at 8.30 AM from relatively better conditions at 5.30 AM when it was recorded at 400 metres.
"However, as the day progressed, the visibility improved to 1,200 meters at 11.30 AM and was recorded 1,000 meters at 2.30 PM and 5.30 PM," a Met official said.
Humidity levels oscillated between 55 and 100 per cent.
There will be moderate fog in the morning tomorrow, according to the Met forecast, which also predicted very light rain or thunderstorms in some areas morning onwards.
The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 17 and 7 degrees Celsius, said the forecast.
