Indian capital witnessing coldest winter in more than a century

The Indian capital is witnessing the coldest winter in more than a century, even as the mercury dipped to 2.4 degrees centigrade on Saturday.

The temperature is expected to dip further in the coming days. There is even a forecast of rains in Delhi, and parts of northern India, in a couple of days.

On Friday, the minimum temperature stood at 4.2 degrees centigrade.

People warm themselves near a fire in a cold morning in New Delhi, India, Dec. 27, 2019. (Photo by Javed Dar/Xinhua)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a release that minimum temperature was recorded at 2.4 degrees centigrade at 06:10 on Saturday morning.

Since morning, dense fog was seen in most parts of northern India, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Delhi and nearby areas are expected to record the second-coldest December since 1901. Media quoted an IMD official as saying, "The mean maximum temperature for December was less than 20 degrees centigrade only in 1919, 1929, 1961 and 1997."

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)