lowest of 5 Deg C

New Delhi, Dec 29 (UNI) A cold and chilly New Year's eve seems to be in the offing for the people of Delhi as the mercury today plummeted to the season's lowest of 5 Degree Celsius.

Cold Northwesterly winds, coupled with snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttaranchal over the past two days under influence of a Western disturbance, brought down the minimum temperature to 5 degrees which is nearly two degrees below normal, from 9.5 degrees yesterday.

The maximum temperature also dropped to 20 degrees.

The severe chill, which left Delhiites freezing, is likely to persist in the next few days with weatherman forecasting a fall in night temperatures by 1-2 degrees likely in the plains of Northwest India during the next 24 hours.

In fact, the weather office has forecast a minimum temperature of 5 degrees tomorrow as well, which means that the severe chill over the capital could persist.

The maximum is also likely to hover around 21 degrees during the next two-three days.

For the second day today, visibility levels in Delhi remained normal.

Though fog was witnessed in the morning, it soon dissipated towards noon. A spokesperson of the Airports Authority of India said flight operations at the International airport were normal this morning.

Weatherman say that due to the prevailing strong winds in the lower levels, dense fog conditions are not likely during the next 24 hours.

During the next 24 hours, weatherman has forecast a slight mist or fog in the morning and mainly clear sky afterwards.

UNI AR KD HT1447