Delhi records coldest night of the season at 12.7 degrees
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New Delhi (PTI): The national capital recorded its coldest night of the season with the mercury dipping to 12.7 degrees Celsius. This was the first time this winter the minimum temperature fell below the 15-degree mark.
The reading was three degrees below normal for this time of the year and marked a sharp drop from 18.4 degrees Celsius recorded a day earlier, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The city recorded a maximum temperature was 27.4 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches below normal, the IMD said.
Meanwhile, the Palam monitoring station recorded a maximum of 24.9 degrees Celsius, which was 5.9 notches below the normal for this time of the year.
Officials attributed the sudden chill to cold northwesterly winds blowing into Delhi following fresh snowfall in the western Himalayas, coupled with clear night skies that enhanced radiational cooling.
"Cold northwesterly winds are now in effect after fresh snowfall in the hills, which is subsequently impacting the minimum temperature," said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at private weather forecaster Skymet.
The previous lowest this year was 15.8 degree celsius recorded on October 26.
Data show that Delhi's minimum temperature usually dips below 10 degree celsius by late November.
The city had recorded minimum temperatures of 9.5 degrees Celsius on October 29 last year, 9.2 degrees Celsius on October 23 in 2023, and 7.3 degrees Celsius on October 29 in 2022, indicating a slightly delayed onset of winter chill this year.
The Met has forecast mainly clear skies for Friday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures likely to hover around 27 to 32 and 12 to 14 degrees Celsius.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
