Snowfall in the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir valley and cyclonic formation on the Maharashtra and Gujarat coast has hastened the arrival of winters in the Capital, says the weatherman.

After a generally balmy opening to the week, the maximum temperature dropped five degrees below normal on Wednesday — to 25.3 degrees Celsius. With the minimum settling at 14.2 degrees, it suddenly became time to bring out the light woollens.

The cloud cover in the morning did not let up totally before 8 am.

“There are two phenomena effecting Delhi,” an official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. “While cold winds from Jammu and Kashmir is adding to the chill, the cyclone in southern India is moving towards north, so we are predicting rain here if the conditions are right.”

The drizzle would, of course, bring down the mercury further.

On Thursday, the IMD predicts thunder during the day and mist in the morning. For the weekend, the weatherman predicts that days will remain windy — a good sign, for winds bring down the pollution level.

According to experts, the maximum temperature is expected to remain around 25 degrees Celsius for the next two or three days.

Flights affected
Visibility went down to 300 metres at 6 am at IGI Airport on Wednesday, thereby affecting flights. Officials said 30 flights to and from Delhi were delayed by between 30 minutes and an hour. “CAT-II situation was witnessed at the Delhi airport on Wednesday morning,” an airport official said. “The normal visibility was 300 metres and RVR was 500 metres from 6 am to 8 am.”

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