The New Year's day temperature was recorded by Safdarjung Observatory at the heart of the city around 6am, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Last year, the city recorded a minimum of 2.4 degrees, while the mercury plummeted to 0.2 degrees on January 8, 2006.
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Weather officials have predicted that the cold spell will continue in Delhi through the week but with reduced intensity from Saturday.
"The minimum temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius is the coldest in 15 years. In 2006, the temperature dipped to 0.2 degrees celsius. Cold wave conditions will persist on Friday, but the temperatures will start rising from Saturday," IMD chief Kuldeep Srivastava told the media in the capital.
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Local TV channels beamed footage of the city's homeless seeking refuge from the biting cold in Delhi's nearly 200 night shelters. "These night shelters are equipped to house thousands and the aim is to ensure that no homeless sleeps in the open in winter," an official of the Delhi government told the media.
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Not only the Indian capital, the cold snap has also been sweeping through many parts of the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the central government-controlled territory of Jammu and Kashmir.