The chill, though, will be felt more acutely by students from classes VI to XII — their chapters do not have a cold-holiday in sight.

The District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar has directed all schools in Noida to remain closed for the next two days due to the “extreme cold conditions”.

Tuesday, meanwhile, brought some relief to Delhiites, though it was still significantly colder than what it ought to be at this time of the year. The minimum temperature stood at 5.2 degrees Celsius, a good 3 notches below normal. Same time last year, the minimum was playing a high at 12 degrees.

According to some weather forecasts, most notably the BBC, it was predicted that the temperature in Delhi may dip to zero degree on Friday, but the Indian Meteorological Department says the odds of that happening are negligible. “For the temperature to fall to zero degree, there would have to be a sustained period of chilly winds blowing in from the North, at least for a few days,” Safdarjung Meteorological Department director S C Bhan says. “With the current snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, the chilly winds will only start blowing in on Friday, causing temperature to dip to around 2 degrees Celsius.”

But zero? “Unlikely,” says Bhan.

The BBC, meanwhile, has now revised its forecast and predicts that temperatures will fall to 1 degree Celsius on Friday.

But doctors across the city are taking no chances. They warn people to protect themselves with those extra layers to bolster the body’s resistance levels. Health experts also say seasonal affective disorder is one of the many negative effects of winter on one’s health. “Seasonal affective disorder, commonly termed as winter blues, is a kind of depression acquired due to lack of exposure to sunlight,” psychiatrist Dr Samir Parikh, of Max Healthcare, says.