Delhi: Flights, trains delayed, cancelled amid dense fog, cold wave conditions in north India

Several flights were delayed or cancelled and 11 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country were running late on Sunday as fog returned after a day of respite.  Zero visibility was recorded at Delhi IGI Airport since 3 am. Most parts of North India have been reeling under chilling cold wave conditions with dense fog lowering the visibility and disrupting rail and air traffic in the national capital.

Due to this, the Delhi airport authorities said in its advisory that passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned regarding the status of their flights. 

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi-Palam reported a reduction in visibility from 400 metres at 02:00 am to 100 metres at 02:30 am on Sunday. Visibility at Delhi-Palam stood at zero metres since 03:00 am on Sunday. 

Very dense fog was observed in isolated pockets in Delhi, north Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, and West Madhya Pradesh while dense fog was reported in isolated pockets of Punjab, northwest Haryana, West Rajasthan, East Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

The early-morning foggy weather in Delhi and adjoining areas has significantly impacted road, rail, and air traffic over the past several days.  A thin layer of fog gripped the national capital amidst the cold wave.  As of 5. 30 am, Delhi's Safdarjung recorded the temperature at 6. 0 degrees Celsius. Morning temperatures witnessed a dip of up to 4 degrees Celsius in comparison to yesterday's temperature. 

The IMD has predicted that dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to continue to prevail over North India during the next 2 days and decrease in intensity thereafter. Cold day to severe cold day conditions are likely to continue to prevail over North India during the next 2 days and decrease in intensity thereafter, IMD's latest bulletin read.

Similarly, cold wave conditions are likely to prevail over Bihar and north Madhya Pradesh today and expand to more parts of north India during January 21-22, it added.  Starting from December 29, 2023, maximum temperatures have dropped below normal by 5-8 degrees Celsius, resulting in a prolonged cold spell.  

There was a brief respite on January 7 and 8, owing to a passing western disturbance.  However, the relief was short-lived as cold conditions returned from January 9. According to the weather department, minimum temperatures are in the range of 6-10°C over most parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Madhya Pradesh.  

These are below normal by 2- 4°C in isolated pockets of north Madhya Pradesh, southeast Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Bihar and Gangetic West Bengal.

A fall in minimum temperatures by 2-3°C is very likely over many parts of Central India during the next 2 days and no significant change thereafter, according to a forecast by the weather department. No significant change in minimum temperatures is likely over the rest of north India during the next 5 days, it said. 

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