As the mercury levels recorded a drop in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), a thick layer of fog engulfed the national capital and adjoining areas leading to reduced visibility on Monday.
As many as 29 trains were running late in the Northern Railway region alone on Monday, due to fog, including the Rajdhani Express trains. Delayed due to fog and cold, passengers were seen facing a lot of problems.
As per the data from Indian Railways: “Anvt Garib Rath is running 7 hours late, Sealdah Rajdhani Express 11:30 hours late, Howrah Rajdhani Express 10:30 hours late, Jainagar Garib Rath Express 10:30 hours late, New Delhi Bhuneshwar Rajdhani Express 09 hours late, Delhi 13:30 hours late, among others.”
29 trains running late in the Northern Railway region due to fog. pic.twitter.com/x7j8dyVvN7
— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2023
Budget carrier IndiGo on Monday tweeted,”Due to dense fog and poor visibility in #Delhi, flight arrivals and departures are impacted.”
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#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to dense fog and poor visibility in #Delhi, flight arrivals and departures are impacted. Please check your flight status at https://t.co/TQCzzykjgA before leaving for the airport and for cancelled flights, please visit Plan B https://t.co/UHIlPxwTZ2.
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 9, 2023
“Visibility recorded at 5:30 am today in Bhatinda-0 metres, Amritsar-25 and Ambala-25 metres each, Hissar-50 metres, Delhi (Safdarjung)-25 metres, Delhi (Palam)-50 metres; Uttar Pradesh: Agra-0 metre, Lucknow (Amausi)-0 metres, Varanasi (Babatpur)-25 metres, Bareilly-50 metres,” according to the data from India Meteorological Department (IMD).
As per Satellite imagery and available visibility data from the IMD, the fog layer extended from Punjab and adjoining northwest Rajasthan to Bihar across Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Due to the continuation of prevailing light winds and high moisture near the surface over Indo-Gangetic plains, dense to very dense fog is very likely to continue in some/many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh during days and in isolated pockets thereafter for subsequent three days over the region, the meteorological department had said.
The dense fog that engulfed the national capital caused delays in flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). Just past midnight, the IGIA issued a statement saying: “Low visibility procedures are in progress at Delhi airport….Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight reactions.”
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Delhi’s minimum temperature was lower than most places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand — both north of the national capital– for the fourth consecutive day.
The cold snap, which is straining power grids and posing challenges to the homeless and animals, prompted the Delhi government to extend winter vacation in schools till January 15.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an “orange” alert for certain parts of north India, including Delhi, for Monday, warning that dense fog, cold day and cold wave conditions would persist.
“Cold wave and cold day conditions over northwest India (are) likely to abate after 48 hours. Dense to very dense fog conditions over many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (are likely) during the next 48 hours and decrease in intensity and distribution thereafter,” the IMD said in a statement.
The air quality was in the ‘Severe’ category with an overall AQI of 422 in Delhi today. A thick layer of fog also covered Noida and parts of Gurugram.
The Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, while from 100 to 200 it is moderate, from 200 to 300 it is poor, and from 300 to 400 it is said to be very poor and from 400 to 500 or above it is considered as severe.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi’s air quality was also recorded to be in the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday.
