The first Friday of the New Year started on a freezing note with the early morning temperature dipping to a minimum of 2.7 degrees Celsius, the lowest minimum of the season and 4 degrees below normal.
“I woke up shivering in the early morning; the cold had seeped into my room despite the room heater which was going strong. I had to add another blanket and only then could I go back to sleep,” said Jyothi, a young professional.
Things got better as the morning progressed and the fog lifted to be replaced by sunshine that lasted almost the entire day. Hats and mufflers came off but cold winds discouraged people from removing their coats.
However, the maximum temperature inched up to rest at 15.7 degrees Celsius, five degrees below normal but several notches up from Thursday’s maximum of 12.7 and Wednesday’s maximum of 9.8, the lowest maximum in 44 years.
The minimum temperature will remain below normal with 3 degrees Celsius forecast for Saturday. A maximum of 13 degrees Celsius has been forecast. Sunshine has also been forecast with fog expected only in the morning.
Meanwhile, dense fog disrupted flight operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport here and train movements across North India on Friday. According to sources, over 30 flights were affected with 16 delayed, one cancelled and three international flights got diverted to other airports.
Fog hit the airport around midnight and got quite dense between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. affecting visibility. Train services too were severely affected.
