Delhi woke up to another chilly morning Monday as temperatures remained below 2 degrees celsius.

The minimum temperature recorded was 1.6 degrees celsius at 6.10 am, while the maximum temperature Sunday was 18.1 degrees celsius.

Visibility was at 800 mt and a layer of mist enveloped the capital in the early hours Monday, Metereological Department officials said. However, air traffic was unaffected.

Runway visibility range at the Palam airport was 1,500 metres, clear enough for flights to take off and land.

However, rail services remained behind schedule and trains reaching Delhi were delayed as the plains were under a thick fog cover.

Northern parts of India continued to be in the grip of chilling cold with mercury dipping far below the normal range and night temperatures dropping to minus level.

Amritsar [Images] bore the brunt of the current spell of cold wave as the minimum temperature dipped to 0.4 degrees celsius, four degrees below normal, the Meteorological Department said in Chandigarh.

Most other Punjab towns were also under the grip of intense cold with Patiala recording a minimum of of 0.8 degrees celsius, 6 degrees below normal.

Chandigarh residents woke up to a partially overcast sky on Monday raising hopes of relief from biting cold. The minimum here dropped to 2 degrees, five degrees below normal. The current cold wave has so far claimed 18 lives in Punjab and 4 in Haryana.

The minimum at Delhi increased slightly since Sunday and settled at 1.4 degrees celsius. However, the temperature was still hovering 6 degrees below normal.

The meteorological department said that fog reduced visibility at Jammu (800 m), Sirsa (zero visibility), Pathankot (500 m), Adampur (200 m), Ambala (300 m), Chandigarh (800 m), Palam (750 m) and Hindon (500 m).

Srinagar [Images] continued to record a minimum below the freezing point. On Monday, the lowest there settled at minus 2.7 degrees celsius, down one degree.