A dense layer of smog enveloped the national capital as Delhiites woke up to a cold winter morning on Monday. The minimum temperature was recorded at 12° Celsius while the maximum is likely to settle around 27° Celsius today, the MeT department noted. Earlier on Sunday, the mercury dipped to 11.4° Celsius in the capital city and a maximum temperature was recorded at 28.2° Celsius.

Flights operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were hampered due to poor visibility. Advisories were issued by SpiceJet, IndiGo, Vistara and others as flights got delayed.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had stated that the temperatures will dip again with the wind direction changing to northwesterly by Monday and a fresh western disturbance triggering snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and higher reaches of Uttarakhand.

The shallow fog is predicted to remain over the next two days, the IMD said. is predicted to remain over the next two days, the IMD said.

Meanwhile, the city’s air quality was in the upper end of the “very poor” category. The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 394 at 7 AM but it is likely to improve over the next couple of days due to a predicted increase in the wind speed.

The System for Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said that the share of stubble burning in the city’s PM 2.5 levels was negligible.

Westerly and north westerly winds have begun to blow from snow-laden western Himalayas towards the plains sending chilly weather to parts of north India. The MeT department has also predicted snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and higher reaches of Uttarakhand owing to a western disturbance.