NEW DELHI: There was a slight relief from the ongoing freezing weather conditions in the national capital on Monday as the minimum temperature rose to 11.4 degrees Celsius due to a cloud cover over the city, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.The maximum temperature settled at 22.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.
Dense fog had enveloped parts of the city in the morning, owing to which visibility was lowered to 50 metres at Safdarjung and 150 metres at Palam around 7:30 am. On Sunday, intense rains, thunder and lightning lashed the city under the influence of a strong Western Disturbance affecting Northwest India.
The Safdarjung Observatory recorded 39.9 mm rainfall between 8:30 am on Saturday to 2:30 pm on Sunday. The IMD said more rains are likely on Monday and Tuesday.
The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius, the highest in the last 22 days, as a result of the cloud cover.
Clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and radiate it back downward, warming the ground.
The Western Disturbance is causing widespread snowfall in the hills.
Once it withdraws, the mercury will again fall to 4 to 5 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department official said.
On Friday, the minimum temperature in Delhi plummeted to 1.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest in 15 years, and “very dense” fog lowered visibility to “zero” metres.
The city had recorded a minimum temperature of 0.2 degrees Celsius on January 8, 2006.
The all-time low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius was registered in January 1935. The lowest minimum temperature recorded in January last year was 2.4 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.