Its official now, winter has finally arrived in the city and its time for Delhiites to pull out their woolens and make the most of the pleasant weather. In the mornings one is greeted by a thin layer of mist and severe chill which gradually lessens as the sun rises higher into the sky leading to extremely pleasant afternoons and cool evenings.

But just when Delhiites were expecting their days to get even chillier, the temperature climbed up again on Tuesday. Compared to Monday's minimum of 7.6 degrees Celsius — the season's lowest so far — the temperature moved up to 8.2 degrees Celsius (two degrees below normal) on Tuesday morning. And with the sun shining bright, the mercury climbed up further to 25.3 degrees Celsius (one degree below normal) by the afternoon.

While the Safdarjung Met office predicted that the temperature would stay around a low of 8 degrees Celsius in the next few days, foreign websites had better news in store. The BBC website predicted that by Thursday, the temperature would move up to 11 degrees, and stay around that mark while according to CNN's website, the temperature might go up even higher, to almost 13 degrees Celsius by Wednesday.

And even though there was no chance of rain, the sky was expected to remain overcast adding to the chill factor. According to Met officials, in the coming days Delhiites were likely to be greeted by mist and shallow fog in the morning with there being the possibility of a further drop in the minimum and maximum temperatures both.

But despite the temperatures rising once again, Delhiites seemed apprehensive of the biting winter chill with most people, especially women and children, preferring to stay at home in the evenings when it gets dark very soon and the temperature starts to fall rapidly. Some residents also expressed concern over what the situation might be in late December and early January if it was this cold in November. Several people, especially senior citizens, have also rescheduled their morning walks by up to an hour due to the early morning chill.

And there’s further bad news for both, parents and school students, since around 300 schools in the city which are a part of the Federation of Public Schools have decided to cancel their winter vacation in view of the days lost due to the sealing imbroglio. However, many other schools, including Delhi Public School, Laxman Public School and Tagore International, have decided to go ahead with the break. Around 300 schools of the city, part of the Federation of Public Schools, have decided to cancel the winter vacation in view of the days lost due to the sealing imbroglio. However, many schools, including Delhi Public School, Laxman Public School and Tagore International, are going ahead with the break.