News Brief
Flight And Train Delays Mount As Dense Fog Blankets North India—What You Need To Know
Heavy fog and smog at Tilak Marg in New Delhi, India. (File Photo) (Representational Image) (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
A thick blanket of fog covered several regions of North India on Friday (3 January), bringing visibility and temperatures down and disrupting train and flight services.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius over the past 24 hours, which is three degrees below normal.
The minimum temperature stood at 7.6 degrees Celsius.
The national capital is forecast to witness persistent fog until 8 January, with light rain expected on 6 January.
On Friday morning, Delhi registered a temperature of 9.6 degrees Celsius, marking its fifth consecutive cold day.
Visibility at Delhi's Palam Airport dropped to 0 meters at 8 am on Friday, while Safdarjung Airport recorded a visibility of 50 meters. Neither airport facilitates commercial flight operations.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 309 at the Lodhi Road monitoring station, which is categorised as 'Very Poor' air quality.
Flights operated by airlines such as SpiceJet, IndiGo, and Air India faced disruptions, with Delhi Airport reporting an average delay of five minutes for arriving flights and 11 minutes for departures, according to FlightRadar24.
While SpiceJet said all flights coming in and going to Amritsar and Guwahati are affected due to bad weather, IndiGo issued a travel advisory with special focus on the Delhi, Amritsar, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Guwahati routes, NDTV reported.
Train services to and from Delhi are experiencing delays, with some routes operating on revised schedules.
Dense fog is likely to persist over Delhi, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Amritsar, and Guwahati on Friday.
A nowcast warning from IMD for dense to very dense fog has also been issued for Delhi and areas in Rajasthan, including Kota, Bundi, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu, Sri Ganganagar, and Tonk.
Similarly, fog alerts are in place for Punjab's Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, and Kapurthala, as well as Haryana's Kurukshetra, Ambala, Panchkula, and Yamunanagar.
Light rain and snowfall are expected in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
A "cold day" is defined by minimum temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius and the highest or lowest temperature is at least 4.5 degrees lower than what is considered normal for a specific period.
In response to the ongoing cold wave, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has suspended classes up to Grade 8 in all district schools until further notice.
