Pleasant Republic Day for Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 26: It was a pleasant though nippy Republic Day for Delhiites on Thursday, Jan 26 as the minimum temperature remained above normal and sun shone brightly despite a thin layer of fog in the morning.

The low was recorded at 9.3 degree Celsius, a degree above normal and up by 0.3 degree from yesterday's 9 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature in the last 24 hours was recorded at 21.1 degree Celsius which is one degree below normal range for this time of the year.

Though there was a nip in the air in the early hours, a bright sun came out as the day progressed. People, helped by the pleasant weather, enjoyed the Republic Day parade and fly past by the Indian Air Force helicopters along the Rajpath where India's military might and rich cultural diversity were in full display.

On this day last year, the minimum temperature was 7.4 degrees while the maximum was 22.6 degree Celsius. The weatherman has predicted mist in the morning tomorrow with temperature oscillating between nine and 22 degrees Celsius. The capital had been witnessing dense fog but the last five days were clear.

The Republic Day celebrations were affected by dense fog in 2010. Last month saw the minimum temperature come down to 2.9 degrees Celsius on Christmas morning, the lowest of the season so far.

In the past 11 years, except for 2010, the month of January has recorded the lowest minimum temperature on January eight of 2006 when the mercury had dipped to 0.2 degree Celsius. The record lowest minimum for the month was on January 16, 1935, when the mercury touched minus 0.6 degrees Celsius while the highest maximum was 32.5 degrees on January 28, 2004.

PTI