Shruti Suman
For the second consecutive day, Delhi experienced significant disruptions as dense fog enveloped the city, leading to the cancellation of over 134 flights at the Delhi airport and delays for 22 trains at the New Delhi Railway stations on Thursday. The morning visibility plummeted to just 25 meters, causing traffic disturbances on the roads. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted dense fog across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab until December 31. The weather office issued an advisory due to the thick haze affecting flight and train operations in the city.
As per the Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System), both domestic and international flights, totaling approximately 134 arrivals and departures, are facing delays at Delhi Airport due to the dense fog. Similarly, the Indian Railways reported 22 trains running late in the Delhi area because of the fog.
The visibility at Delhi’s Safdarjung observatory dropped to 50 meters at 5:30 AM, and Palam, near Delhi airport, reported a visibility of 25 meters. The IMD predicts “very dense fog” during late night and morning hours until New Year’s Eve in several northern states. On Wednesday, a thick layer of fog covered the national capital, maintaining the cold wave in northern India with the temperature dropping to almost seven degrees.
The IMD issued a warning of ‘dense to very dense’ fog in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh from 27th to 29th December, along with isolated pockets of North Rajasthan and north Madhya Pradesh on 27th December. Morning visuals from various parts of Delhi, such as Dhaula Kuan, India Gate, Barapullah, and the Delhi-Noida border, showed them shrouded in dense fog.
The Delhi Airport Authority advised that while landings and takeoffs continue, flights not compliant with CAT III (category III) standards may face disruptions. Passengers were urged to contact the respective airlines for updated flight information, and any inconvenience caused was deeply regretted, according to a post by the Delhi airport.
NI Bureau
