New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS): Engulfed in a blanket of shallow fog and haze, the national capital on Sunday recorded 3.7 degrees Celsius -- the coldest day this December with the air quality remaining 'severe', the Met department said.

The visibility at 8.30 a.m. was 500 metres and the humidity was at 94 per cent -- a condition not favourable for dispersal of pollutants.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's Air Quality Index at 8 a.m. was 441 with major pollutants being PM2.5 and PM10.

"The sky was partly cloudy. Haze and smoke is expected even in the afternoon," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 22 degrees Celsius.

Biting cold conditions were also prevailing in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the IMD official told IANS.

Saturdays's maximum temperature was 21.8 degrees Celsius, average for the season, while the minimum temperature was 4 degrees Celsius, four notches below average.