New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS): Delhi recorded its second coldest day of the month on Monday, with the minimum temperature dipping to 7.6 degrees Celsius, one notch below season's average.

Earlier, Saturday morning recorded 7.6 degrees Celsius in the month of December.

"Till December 15-16, the minimum temperature will hover around 7 degrees Celsius and might dip further from the next week," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS.

Drop in temperature is also contributing to air quality reaching "severe" levels in Delhi-NCR. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi at 4 p.m was 403 (severe) against 374 (very poor) on Sunday, on a scale of 0 to 500.

The sudden dip in the minimum temperature was observed after rains lashed the hills of Himachal Pradesh on Monday.

The weather office has forecast more rains and snow during the next 24 hours in the state.

Snowfall also took place in Minimarg in Kargil, Gulmarg and Pir Ki Gali of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The minimum temperatures rose above the freezing point in Srinagar after 10 days due to night-long cloud cover on Monday," a Met Department official said.