Dry and icy winds barrel through the plains, Delhi felt the effects on Tuesday and Wednesday as the cold wave sweeps over the capital, the minimum temperature dipped to 3.5 degrees Celsius.
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The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of 3.5 degrees Celsius as against 3.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department said it is likely to get even colder on New Year's Eve.
Last night, "dense" fog reduced visibility to 50 metres in the Palam area. However, it improved to 400 metres by 9 am. The visibility at Safdarjung was 500 metres. According to the IMD, "very dense" fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is "dense", 201 and 500 "moderate", and 501 and 1,000 "shallow".
In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A severe cold wave is when the minimum is 2 degrees Celsius or less. Over the next two days, cold wave conditions are predicted in the plains.
On December 20, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded a minimum of 3.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far. This year, the city has witnessed only three "cold" days and 7 "cold wave" days so far.
Last year, the national capital broke the record of the longest cold spell, registering 18 consecutive cold days.