Delhi records cold wave as temperature drops to 3.5 degree Celsius

New Delhi, Dec 30: A cold wave swept the national capital on Wednesday as the minimum temperature dipped to 3.5 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said. According to reports, it is likely to get even colder on New Year's Eve as dry and icy winds barrelled though the plains.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of 3.5 degrees Celsius as against 3.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

The weather stations at Jafarpur and Lodhi Road recorded a low of 3.5 degrees Celsius and 3.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.

During nighttime, "dense" fog reduced visibility to 50 metres in the Palam area. However, it improved to 400 metres by 9 am.

The visibility at Safdarjung was 500 metres. According to the IMD, "very dense" fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is "dense", 201 and 500 "moderate", and 501 and 1,000 "shallow".

In the plains, the IMD declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A severe cold wave is when the minimum is 2 degrees Celsius or less.