Delhi records coldest day of month, mercury dips to 3 degrees

A cold wave swept through Delhi on Wednesday morning as the minimum temperature dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius, the lowest this winter, the Met office said.

"The minimum temperature was recorded at 3.6 degree Celsius, four notches below the season's average. It is the lowest temperature recorded so far this year," it said.

Delhi has been reeling under a cold wave for the past a few days. On December 23, the minimum temperature was recorded at 3.7 degrees Celsius. It is expected to dip to 3.0 degrees Celsius after December 28.

The weatherman has predicted clear skies throughout the day on Wednesday and the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius.

According to the Met department, humidity level recorded at 8.30 am was 97 per cent. On Tuesday, the minimum temperature had settled at 5.0 degrees Celsius. 

Meanwhile, Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- recorded the coldest night in 11 years as the minimum temperature plunged to minus 6.8 degrees Celsius, resulting in partial freezing of the Dal Lake and water supply lines to residential areas on Monday.

The all-time low recorded in the month of December in Srinagar is minus 12.8 degrees Celsius on December 13, 1934.

"Srinagar city recorded a low of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius. This is the coldest recorded temperature in the city in almost 11 years. The city had registered a low of minus 7.2 degrees Celsius on December 31, 2007," an official of the MET department told PTI on Monday.

The cold wave resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake here, and residential water supply pipes.