Delhiites braved a bone-chilling first day of the new year as the minimum temperature dropped to 4°Celsius, three degrees below normal on Tuesday. The minimum temperature was the lowest this season and also the coldest January 1 in five years, with 3°C recorded on the same day in 2008.

The maximum temperature was 15.3°C, five degrees below normal but two degrees up from Monday’s 13.3°C.

The Capital recorded its lowest temperature on January 16, 1935 at -0.6°C. On January 1, 2012, the minimum temperature was 8.4°C and in 2011, it was 11°C.

On Tuesday, thick fog was seen at the airport in the morning leading to cancellation of 14 flights. While 100 flights were delayed, four were diverted.

A Met official said it would remain cold in the coming days with fog in the morning. “We are expecting a clear sky on Wednesday, but there will be fog over the airport and city. Fog will lift by noon after which mist is expected. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be 16°C and 5°C respectively.”

However, he said fog has not inconvenienced Delhiites much this winter.

“Though dense fog duration is comparable with December 2011, the prevalence is normal with visibility affected early in the morning and late at night. The first 22 days of December 2012 were completely fog free, which is unusual, with visibility above 1,000 metres. We expect almost 28 days of December to be foggy,” he said.