It was a bone-chilling morning for Delhiites on Tuesday as the mercury plummeted to the season's lowest of 3.7 degree Celsius and icy winds blowing across the city added to the woes of the people.
The maximum temperature settled at 14.7 degree Celsius, six notches below normal and the same as recorded on Monday.
"The minimum was recorded at 3.7 degree Celsius, which is the lowest this season. The low was three degrees below normal," a Met Department official said. The minimum temperature dropped by over 4 degrees from Monday's low of 8.2 degree Celsius.
Icy winds blowing across the city for the past several days added to the chill in the city where two cold-related deaths have been reported since December 26. A fog cover also enveloped the capital since early morning and there was no sun to bring some warmth for the people reeling under cold.
There might be no relief from the biting chill as the weatherman predicted that "cold day conditions" will prevail on Wednesday with the mercury oscillating between four and 15 degree Celsius.
Last year, the month of January recorded the lowest minimum of 5.6 degrees Celsius in the first week of the year.
According to MeT statistics, the record for the highest maximum for the month of January was 32.5 degree Celsius recorded on the 28th of 2004. The record minimum is -0.6 degree Celsius recorded on 16th of the month in 1935.
In the last decade, only last year the minimum did not drop below five degree Celsius. In 2006, the minimum dropped to 0.2 degrees on January eight while two years later, the lowest minimum was 1.9 degrees on 2nd of the month.
The mean minimum for the month of January is 7.3 degree Celsius while the mean maximum is 21.1 degrees.
