After record lows, city’s new highs in temperature

Delhi seems to be caught in a battle of extreme temperatures this season, with the Capital, on Thursday, recording one of the highest day time temperatures in the last four years, just three days after the temperature dropped to the lowest in 42 years.

Delhi seems to be caught in a battle of extreme temperatures this season, with the Capital, on Thursday, recording one of the highest day time temperatures in the last four years, just three days after the temperature dropped to the lowest in 42 years.

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The maximum temperature on Thursday at the Safdarjung observatory was recorded as 24.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal.

The temperature at the Palam observatory was a surprising 26.4 degrees, six degrees above normal. In previous three years, the temperature had gone above 24 degrees only towards the end of January.

The temperature on Sunday was 11 degrees Celsius, ten degrees below normal.

"The city is experiencing extreme temperatures this season. One reason for this is the constantly changing direction of winds. The northerly winds that were earlier making the city extremely cold have temporarily been replaced by warm easterly winds due to a western disturbance," said RK Jenamani, Director-in-Charge, Met Department (IGI Airport).

Met officials have predicted a warm day on Friday as well with chances of light rainfall.

The reprieve from the extreme cold conditions is expected to continue for another day with officials predicting that temperature could drop again after January 15 and the wind chill factor, which kept the city shivering in the beginning of the year, will return.

But there is some good news as well.

Dense fog, which severely hampered flight operations this winter, is now on its way out. The met department has forecast some foggy days after January 15 but overall, fog is now in its receding phase.

"Apart from the spell we are expecting on January 15, fog is now receding and is on its way out," he added.