25 degrees in December! Where's the Delhi winter?

Get set for the hottest New Year eve in more than 15 years.

New Delhi: The temperature spike in the national capital is the latest abnormality in a season of extreme weather events.

According to Skymet Weather Services Pvt Ltd, the mild winter is likely to continue due to a combination of the El Nino effect, local weather factors, and climate change.

The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 24 degrees Celsius on December 31 (Thursday), an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Wednesday's maximum temperature was recorded five notches above the season's average at 25.1 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature settled at 8.5 degrees Celsius, one notch above the season's average.

“The mild winter spell has been caused due to the anti-cyclonic circulation forming over Rajasthan. It is bringing in warmer and drier winds from the west,” Livemint quoted the private weather forecaster as saying.

“Even during the first few days in January, similar weather along with shallow or moderate fog will persist,” it added.

On Wednesday, temperatures at the North Pole rose above freezing point, 20 degrees Celsius above the mid-winter norm.

Canadian weather authorities blamed the temperature spike on the freak depression which has already brought record Christmas temperatures to North America and lashed Britain with winds and floods.

Notably, the polar region is the area of the world that has seen the most profound effects of climate change in recent decades.

The 2015 El Nino is regarded as perhaps the most powerful in a century and, combined with the effects of climate change, it has generated storms, flood and droughts in Central America and beyond.

As per US National Aeronautical and Space Administration, El Nino this year has caused heat waves in India caused by delayed monsoon rains.