Chill persists in Delhi, mercury down to 5.6 Degree C

New Delhi, Feb 9 (UNI) The cold wave prevailing in Delhi persisted today with cold Northwesterly winds plummeting mercury to 5.6 degrees Celsius.

The icy cold Northwesterlies led to a sharp drop in minimum temperature, from 9.4 degrees Celsius yesterday to 5.6 degrees Celsius three degrees below normal.

Though the maximum temperature dropped slightly to 18 degree Celsius, it still remained five degrees below normal.

A shallow fog was witnessed in the morning, leading to a slight drop in visibility levels to around 500 m. The visibility, however, improved soon to above 1000 m.

Airport sources said flight schedules remained unaffected as one of the two runways at the airport remained fully operational. Also, with the visibility levels improving, the second runway also became operational soon.

The chilly conditions in Delhi are likely to persist for another few days with the weathermen forecasting cold winds during the day in Delhi during the next 24 hours.

They have also forecasted a drop in minimum temperature in the city to 5 degrees C tomorrow.

''There is likely to be a further fall in minimum temperatures by 1-3 Degree C and cold wave conditions over plains of the Northwest India during the next two to three days,''the Met office said.

The Met office has forecasted a mainly clear sky in Delhi during the next 24 hours.

The Weathermen say the cold winds in Delhi have set in due to the Eastwards movement of a Western disturbance.

UNI AR KK HT1855