Delhi weather: Temperature drops to 2.4 degrees Celsius as city braces for 2nd coldest December since 1901

Delhi weather: Delhi recorded the season's lowest temperature as minimum temperature dropped to 2.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, around 6 AM on Saturday. Today's minimum temperature is fell around 1.8 degree Celsius from Friday's minimum temperature of 4.2 degree Celsius. Since December 14, Delhi has witnessed 14 consecutive "cold days". The last time such a long cold spell was witnessed was in December 1997.

According to Skymet weather, severe cold day conditions in Delhi will stay and chilly winds will continue to sweep the national capital and nearby areas of Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram for next three days.

The national capital this year will record its second-coldest December since 1901. "The mean maximum temperature for December was less than 20 degrees Celsius only in 1919, 1929, 1961 and 1997," an official of the India Meteorological Department said.

The mean maximum temperature (MMT) this year has dropped to 19.85 degrees Celsius and it could dip to 19.15 degrees Celsius by December 31. "If it happens, it will be the second-coldest December since 1901. December 1997 recorded the lowest MMT of 17.3 degrees Celsius," an IMD official said.

Also read: Delhi weather: Cold wave to continue for 5 more days; light rain on December 31

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said cold to severe cold wave conditions will remain in some pockets of Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan, Bihar in the next two days. The IMD has also predicted some relief in the region from December 31 onwards.

As many as 21 trains were delayed for over six hours in north India due to the weather conditions.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season with the city freezing at minus 5.6 degrees Celsius, the regional MeT office said. Leh town in the Union Territory of Ladakh recorded a low of minus 20.7 degrees Celsius, the weather experts said. Kufri, Manali, Solan, Bhuntar, Sundernagar and Kalpa shivered below sub-zero temperatures in Himachal Pradesh, a MeT department official said.

The MeT office has predicted snowfall in the middle and high hills of the state from December 31 to January 2. Under the influence of this western disturbance, major parts of northwest and central India are very likely to experience fairly widespread to widespread rainfall, accompanied with hailstorm, at isolated places during December 31-January 1, the IMD said.

Edited by Manoj Sharma with PTI inputs