Lovers can expect a cool Valentines Day, if not cold, as India Meteorological Department has predicted departure of winter by February 10.

The weather would continue to be erratic and residents would feel the chill for a few more days because of the prolonged duration of winter.

“Earlier, we were expecting the winter to officially depart by January 25. However, the recent changes in the weather conditions and the external weather components are likely to push the departure of the winter to around February 10,” said Ashish Sen, director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Patna.

Elaborating the factors, he said: “The frequency of western disturbances during this winter has been higher and the state is expected to be affected by three more western disturbances in the next couple of days. The coming western disturbance would stretch the winter season at least till the first week of February.”

For youths, the end of winter and the gush of spring would be more than romantic. “If the winter ends by February 10, Valentines Day would be comfortable — neither very hot nor very cold,” said Jyotika Sinha (23), a resident of Kankerbagh.

According to meteorology standards, winter officially ends when the minimum temperature remains above 13°C for over a week after January 22.

On Tuesday, residents of the capital woke up to a foggy morning with the minimum temperature dipping to 6.6°C, two notches below normal and also two degrees lower than Monday’s temperature.

The capital also witnessed a day-cold condition. The maximum temperature was recorded at 15.4°C, which was nine degrees below normal.

The fog cover put brakes on life as well. Most vehicles were seen manoeuvring through thoroughfares with fog lights on because the visibility was less than 50m till 10am. Schoolchildren were seen shivering at bus stops because of the moisture formed by the fog cover.

“It was better last week with the rise in minimum temperature. But it was again bone-chilling in the morning today (Tuesday). The fog worsened the situation. My daughter was shivering on her way to school,” said Arpita, a resident of Ashiana Nagar.