Delhi continues to reel under dense fog reducing visibility; flights, trains disrupted

Delhi and its adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to dense fog for the third consecutive day, significantly impacting visibility and affecting road, rail, and flight services.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the national capital recorded a minimum of zero visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) at night – which led to flight delays.

In view of the dense fog conditions, the Delhi airport at night issued an advisory for passengers saying, “While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.”

Notably, the CAT III instrument is an anti-fog landing system that helps planes land in low-visibility conditions. It allows for landing with a minimum visibility of up to 50 meters.

Several trains leaving the national capital or going towards it were also delayed owing to the dense fog. On Tuesday, a similar situation was seen in the national capital as 19 Delhi-bound trains and several flights were affected.

Meanwhile, the weather department has predicted light rainfall in the national capital due to a western disturbance in the Himalayan region. According to IMD, Delhi is likely to witness light rainfall for two days on Wednesday and Thursday. “Dense to very dense fog in the morning and light rain or thundershowers accompanied with gusty winds towards evening or night,” the IMD’s bulletin said.

The minimum temperature in Delhi on Tuesday stood at 10 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature is likely to touch up to 19 degrees Celsius.

Apart from Delhi-NCR, dense to very dense fog conditions were witnessed in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, the IMD said. “Cold day conditions at isolated places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh. Thunderstorm/Lightning at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir And Himachal Pradesh,” the weather department added.