Belying the prediction of Friday freeze, the minimum temperature in the capital on Friday recorded a marginal increase of 0.7 degrees Celsius to touch 4.1 degrees Celsius.

There was major hype over whether the minimum temperature in Delhi would touch freezing point after the BBC forecast earlier this week that the mercury would dip to zero degree Celsius on Friday.

However, the minimum temperature was in fact higher than Thursday's 3.4 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

The minimum on Friday was, however, five degrees below normal and the capital continued to be under the spell of a cold wave.

The weatherman predicted that Saturday's minimum temperature was likely to remain at around four degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature on Thursday was 19 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal.

The National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting said a western disturbance is likely to affect north-west India, including Delhi, by Saturday, which is expected to cause a rise in temperature by about four degrees Celsius.  

The capital has been experiencing intense cold conditions for the past few days, with the minimum and maximum temperatures going several notches below normal.

The season's lowest was recorded at 1.9 degrees Celsius on January 2, while the second lowest was recorded on January 28 at 2.3 degree Celsius.