Dense fog envelops Delhi; flights impacted at Delhi airport amid zero visibility

A thick blanket of dense fog shrouded Delhi on Monday morning, reducing the visibility levels to zero and impacting flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The adverse weather conditions led to significant delays and diversions of flights to and from the Delhi airport.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported very dense fog has affected the airport since early morning with runway visual range (RVR) on all runways measuring between 125-175 metres. The weather department on Monday predicted a minimum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, with a low possibility of rainfall across the national capital.

Due to this, the Delhi airport issued an advisory requesting passengers to contact their concerned airline for flight information before leaving for the airport.

“While landing and take-offs continue at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the Delhi airport's advisory said.

The CAT III operations for takeoffs and landings are necessitated when very dense fog causes poor or zero visibility.  Budget airline SpiceJet also urged passengers to check their flight status.

The airline said in a post on X, "Due to bad weather in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status."

Meanwhile, the IMD predicted dense to very dense fog in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and east Uttar Pradesh from December 25-27. Dense fog was also predicted in parts of west Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha on December 25.

Similar weather conditions are likely over parts of west Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on December 26.

Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are likely to report dense fog conditions on December 27. Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are expected to report similar weather conditions on December 28 and 29.

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