NEW DELHI: The city saw a bright sun and strong winds on Sunday, as the mercury continued to climb slowly up. The weather is likely to remain so over the next two days until February 3, when a fresh Western Disturbance (WD) is expected to result in drizzle or thundershowers and gusty winds for which a 'yellow' alert has been issued, weather officials said.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Sunday, the maximum temperature settled at 22.2 degrees C, normal for this time of the year. The minimum was 7.5 degrees C, a notch below the season's average.
The national capital saw the longest 'cold day' spell this season with 13 such days recorded this January --- highest recorded during this month since January 2003 when 18 such days were recorded.
The weather office has forecast that daytime temperatures are likely to remain above 20 degree Celsius for the next few days till February 2 and fall subsequently thereafter. "The day temperature may rise by 3 to 5 degrees till February 2 and then drop, as a result of a fresh WD affecting northwest India, which is likely to result in fairly widespread ainfall over Delhi and adjoining areas," a senior IMD scientist said.
The drizzle and thunder on February 3-4 is also likely to be accompanied by gusty winds of up to 30-40 kmph. A yellow alert has been issued for these two days. Also, strong surface winds (speed 15-25 kmph) are likely over Delhi over the next two days.
However, IMD officials said that the WD is not likely to last for more than a day starting from the night of February 3 till the next morning.