Another chilly day for Capital

Delhiites today woke up to another cold and gloomy morning as the mercury remained below the normal level and a blanket of fog enveloped the city.

Delhiites on Thursday woke up to another cold and gloomy morning as the mercury remained below the normal level and a blanket of fog enveloped the city.

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The minimum temperature was recorded at 5.3 degree Celsius, a degree more than Wednesday's low of 4.2 degrees but still two degrees below normal for this time of the year.

Fog added to the chill factor as there was no sign of the Sun to bring some warmth for the people reeling under intense cold. The city has been experiencing quite chilly days this week and Tuesday was the coldest with both minimum and maximum dropping to season's lowest of 3.7 degrees and 12.7 degrees, respectively.

Icy winds blowing across the city for the last several days have also added to the woes of Delhiites. At least three cold-related deaths have been reported here since December 26.

The maximum was 13 degree C on Wednesday, eight degrees below normal for this time of the season.

The weatherman has predicted no relief for Friday. Fog is expected in the morning while the minimum and the maximum may be around 5 and 14 degree Celsius.

"The cold conditions are likely to continue," a MeT Department official said.

According to MeT statistics, the record for the highest maximum for the month of January was 32.5 degree Celsius recorded on the 28th of 2004. The record minimum is -0.6 degree Celsius recorded on 16th of the month in 1935.

In the last decade, only last year the minimum did not drop below five degree Celsius. In 2006, the minimum dropped to 0.2 degrees on January eight while two years later, the lowest minimum was 1.9 degrees on 2nd of the month.

The mean minimum for the month of January is 7.3 degree Celsius while the mean maximum is 21.1 degrees.