Dense fog disrupts Delhi travel: Flights and trains delayed, north India shivers

PTC News Desk: In the wake of a relentless cold wave, north India finds itself grappling with dense fog, severely impacting visibility and causing disruptions in both air and rail travel. Despite a brief respite, the return of fog has led to delays and cancellations of several flights and disrupted train schedules in the national capital.

On Sunday, Delhi experienced zero visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport since 3 am, contributing to the delay and cancellation of multiple flights. Additionally, 11 trains bound for Delhi from different parts of the country faced delays due to the persistent foggy conditions.

Dense fog has been particularly prevalent in isolated pockets of Delhi, north Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh, and west Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, areas such as Punjab, northwest Haryana, west Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar have also reported instances of dense fog in isolated pockets.

The chilly weather, accompanied by the return of dense fog, has significantly impacted road, rail, and air traffic in Delhi and its surrounding regions over the past few days. As of 5.30 am, the Safdarjung area in Delhi recorded a temperature of 6.0 degrees Celsius, marking a drop of up to 4 degrees Celsius from the previous day.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts that dense to very dense fog conditions will persist over North India for the next two days, gradually decreasing in intensity thereafter. Similarly, cold day to severe cold day conditions are expected to prevail over the region during this period, gradually easing in intensity afterward.

IMD's latest bulletin predicts that cold wave conditions will persist over Bihar and north Madhya Pradesh, extending to more parts of North India between January 21-22. Since December 29, 2023, maximum temperatures have been consistently below normal by 5-8 degrees Celsius, resulting in a prolonged cold spell. While there was a brief respite on January 7 and 8 due to a passing western disturbance, cold conditions returned on January 9.

The weather department reports that minimum temperatures range from 6-10°C over most parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and Madhya Pradesh. In isolated pockets of north Madhya Pradesh, southeast Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gangetic West Bengal, temperatures are below normal by 2-4°C.

The forecast indicates a likely fall in minimum temperatures by 2-3°C over many parts of Central India in the next two days, with no significant change thereafter. Meanwhile, no significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over the rest of North India during the next five days, according to the weather department.

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(Inputs from agencies)