Delhi remains in grip of severe cold

Delhiites continued to reel under severe cold conditions on Tuesday even as the minimum temperature settled at 4.8 degrees Celsius, over two notches above than that on Monday morning. While parts of national capital witnessed shallow to moderate fog, the operations at Delhi airport were normal and no flights were delayed or canceled.

The minimum temperature settled at 4.8 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung observatory, two notches below the season's average, and humidity was 91 percent. The minimum temperature at Palam was recorded at 4.1 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road at 3.7 degrees Celsius while at Ayanagar it was recorded at 4.2 degrees Celsius.

Delhi's air quality index was in the severe category at 401. At least 34 trains were reported to be running late due to fog including Chennai-Nizamuddin Duronto Express delayed by over eight hours, Bhubhaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express by 6 hours and Howrah-New Delhi Duronto Express delayed by 3 hours.

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. It was also the coldest day in the national capital during the December-February period since 1951.

ZCZC PRI GEN NAT

.NEW DELHI DEL10 DL-LD WEATHER

Dense fog engulfs Delhi, flight, train services hit (Eds: Eds details)

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) A thick blanket of fog engulfed the national capital on Monday morning affecting train and flight operations as visibility dropped drastically, with some observatories recording it at zero metres. The minimum temperature settled at 2.6 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung observatory, four notches below the season's average, and humidity was 100 per cent.

The minimum temperature at Palam was recorded at 2.9 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road at 2.2 degrees Celsius while at Ayanagar it was recorded at 2.5 degrees Celsius Delhi's air quality index was in the severe category at 450 at 8.38 am.

The visibility recorded by the Safdarjung and Palam observatories stood at zero metres at 8.30 am. It was recorded at 100 metres at Safdarjung and zero at Palam at 5.30 am. Three flights were diverted from the Delhi airport due to heavy fog, but according to an update at 7 am, an airport official said, "no flights have been cancelled yet".

Thirty trains were delayed and the delay ranged from two to seven and a half hours, according to a Railways official. The Delhi-Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani was delayed by seven and a half hours.

The weatherman has forecast mainly clear skies for the day with the maximum temperature likely to hover around 16 degrees Celsius. For Monday, the weatherman has predicted cold day at a few places in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).

Foggy conditions will continue to prevail on Tuesday with the minimum temperature likely to settle around three degrees Celsius. The national capital on Saturday had recorded its coldest day of the season as the minimum temperature plummeted to 2.4 degrees Celsius in the morning.

The minimum temperature in various parts of Delhi varied with 2.5 degrees Celsius being recorded at Ayanagar, 2.8 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 3.2 degrees Celsius at Palam and 3.6 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung on Sunday. The average maximum temperature was recorded in the evening at 15.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday.