Coldest day for Delhi in 44 years

New Delhi: Bone chilling cold and icy winds left Delhiites shivering on Wednesday as the national capital experienced the coldest day in the past 44 years with day temperature plummeting to a record 9.8 degrees Celsius. The sharp dip in mercury level made life tough for people who found it very difficult even in the afternoon as icy winds blew over the city. The minimum was recorded at 4.8 degrees, two notches below normal but 0.8 degrees higher than Tuesday's 4 degrees Celsius, which was the season's lowest minimum recorded. Today's maximum is a 11 degrees departure from normal levels and this is the lowest maximum temperature recorded since 1969, the MeT office said. Denizens pulled out more woollens from their shelves as both maximum and minimum temperatures dipped this winter. The MeT department says the spell of intense cold would continue tomorrow as a similar weather condition would prevail. Flight operations were also disrupted as there was a drop in runway visibility to less than 25 m. Dense fog partially disrupted the schedule of over 30 flights, including diversion of an international flight to Mumbai. -PTI | 02nd Jan 2013