It was a pleasantly warm day in the national Capital on Monday with the maximum temperature settling at 24.3 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's normal. The minimum temperature was pegged at 9.3 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, said a Met department official.
Foggy conditions prevailed in the morning and visibility was recorded at 800 metres at 5.30 am at Safdarjung which dipped further to 400 metres at 8.30 am before improving significantly to 1,500 metres three hours later.
At Palam, the visibility was 200 metres, both at 5.30 am and 8.30 am, and improved to 800 metres at 11.30 am, the official said. According to a senior railway official, 80 trains were running late, while 49 were rescheduled.
The humidity oscillated between 100 and 58 per cent. The MeT office has predicted partly cloudy skies for Tuesday with the likelihood of moderate to shallow fog in the morning.
Eighty trains were delayed while 49 trains were rescheduled due to foggy weather in the national capital and neighbouring States in the morning.
The blanket of fog brought down visibility levels. It was 800 meters at 5.30 am and 400 meters at 8.30 am at Safdarjung. It improved to 1,500 meters as the fog dissipated toward the afternoon.
A fresh spell of snowfall in higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh intensified the cold weather in the State.
Strong velocity icy winds swept the region and sky remained heavily overcast and a pale sun failed to warm it up.
The MeT office has forecast rains or snowfall in mid and higher hills for seven days starting today due to Western Disturbance as an upper air cyclonic circulation lies over north Afghanistan.
Cold conditions persisted in most parts of Rajasthan which was shrouded by dense fog early in the day. Chittorgarh was the coldest place in the state at 6.6 degrees Celsius.
However, no disruptions in flight operations have been reported as per Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). "The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover at 25 and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively," the weatherman said.
On Sunday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 23 and 9.2 degrees Celsius, respectively.