Scattered rain and cold winds caused a major slump in the day temperature as the mercury settled seven notches below normal at 16 degrees Celsius in the national capital on Sunday. According to MeT department, the city received 3.8 mm of rains between 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. There was little difference between the minimum and maximum temperature as the minimum, recorded last night was recorded at 14.2 degrees Celsius which was six notches above normal. The maximum temperature recorded is the season's lowest, the MeT said. Humidity level remained high throughout the day as it oscillated between 87 and 93 per cent. As overcast conditions prevailed throughout the day coupled with a shallow fog, most of the Delhiites chose to stay indoors, some ventured out to places like India Gate and Connaught Place to enjoy the weather. Similar weather conditions may remain till tomorrow morning and there is possibility of more rains during the night, a MeT official said. Snowfall in the higher reaches and rains in low-lying areas of Uttarakhand and in the entire Indo-Gangetic plains is the reason for the sudden drop in temperature in Delhi, the official said. "As was predicted five-six days in advance, the entire western Himalayas was predicted to have rain and snow. Even the Indo-Gangetic plains including Haryana, Punjab and Delhi got a good amount of rainfall," Director General, MeT Department L S Rathore said. Both day and night will be colder and now there is a lot of moisture which is available in the entire Indo-Gangetic plan and therefore there would be a slight fog is slightly, he said. The Met department had predicted such weather in Delhi on Wednesday saying light rain/thunderstorm may occur over some parts of Delhi-NCR during Saturday and Sunday. Shallow to moderate fog would also occur over some parts Delhi during morning hours of the outlook period. Cold conditions have intensified in the national capital since yesterday as the sky remained overcast and scattered rains occurred in some parts of the city which was swept by chilly winds, the official said. The minimum had yesterday settled two notches above the season's average, at 10.4 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature was recorded two notches below normal at 20.8 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow's forecast is generally cloudy weather with mainly clear sky morning onwards. There would be shallow fog in the morning. The maximum and minimum may settle at around 17 degrees and 11 degrees Celsius respectively.
