Vikrant Shekhawat : Dec 19, 2020, 02:36 PM
New Delhi: Delhi's minimum temperature dropped to 3.9 degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far, on Saturday.Biting cold conditions prevailed in the national capital as the mercury dipped to 3.3 degrees Celsius and 3.4 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road and Ayanagar, respectively, as icy winds from snow-laden Western Himalayas continued to sweep the city."The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a low of 3.9 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 21 degrees Celsius," an India Meteorological Department official said.On Friday, the minimum temperature had plunged to 2.7 degrees Celsius at Jafarpur.The city had recorded a "severe" cold day on Thursday as the maximum temperature dropped to 15.2 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal and the lowest this season so far.On Friday, it rose to 19.8 degrees Celsius.A "cold day" is when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is at least 4.4 degrees Celsius below normal. A "severe" cold day is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 notches below normal.Partly cloudy skies are predicted over the national capital towards the evening, the IMD said.The minimum temperature is expected to hover around 5 degrees Celsius in the next five to six days, it added.Also, severe cold wave conditions are likely to persist at various places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and the national capital, said the IMD on Saturday."Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions at many places very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi; at a few places over West Uttar Pradesh; at isolated places over East Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and cold wave conditions at isolated places over Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh during the next 24 hours and decrease thereafter," IMD stated in its bulletin.