Cold wave: Dense fog shrouds Delhi, other states; 18 trains run late, flights affected

Cold wave in India news: Dense fog enveloped Delhi and other parts of north India on Thursday morning as cold wave conditions continued to prevail, affecting trains and flights. 

Very dense fog was reported in isolated parts of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh and northwest Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday late night, according to the IMD.

Moderate fog was also reported in isolated pockets of east Uttar Pradesh and Tripura whereas shallow fog was witnessed in isolated parts of Chandigarh, northwest Rajasthan and Bihar, the Met Department said. 

This resulted in delayed trains and affected flights at the Delhi airport due to reduced visibility. The weather department has advised people to avoid unnecessary travel and has forecasted dense fog conditions for the next five days.

At least 18 trains to Delhi were running late on Thursday due to cold weather conditions. Several flights were also impacted on lowered visibility levels due to the dense fog conditions.

Coldwave conditions persisted in Punjab and Haryana with temperatures below normal levels. The coldest place in Punjab was Ballowal Saunkhri, recording zero degrees Celsius, while in Haryana, Karnal recorded a low of 3.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal.

Amritsar reported two degrees Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala reported cold wave conditions and mercury dropped to 2.8 degrees Celsius and 4.5 degrees Celsius in these places. Ambala, Hisar, Narnaul, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Sirsa reported minimum temperatures of 4.9, 5.8, 3.5, 6.4, 3.5, and 5.6 degrees Celsius respectively. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted dense to very dense fog and cold day conditions across many parts of north India for the next five days. Dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to prevail in some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh till January 21.

Parts of western Uttar Pradesh are also likely to witness similar weather conditions from January 19-21. The forecast also includes dense fog conditions in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh, north Madhya Pradesh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on January 18. 

Similar weather conditions are also likely to prevail in east Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on January 19. Rajasthan is also expected to report dense fog conditions on January 20. 

Moreover, the Punjab government on Monday announced an extension of winter holidays for students up to Class 5 in all schools until January 21. State Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that students in grades 6-12 will have regular classes from 10 am to 03:00 pm. 

Previously, the Punjab government issued a directive to shut down all schools upto Class 10 until January 14. 

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