Fog hits Delhi flights, trains; cloud cover to push up min temperature tomorrow

A dense cover of fog on Wednesday (January 11) lowered visibility to just 50 metres in Delhi, disrupting the movement of vehicles and trains. A layer of dense to very dense fog extended from Punjab to Bihar across Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, an IMD official said.

The Palam observatory near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded a visibility level of 50 metres. Twenty trains were delayed by an hour to 10 hours due to the foggy weather, a Northern Railways spokesperson said. News agency ANI reported that several flights were delayed due to the dense fog.

♦ Fog observed (at 0830 hours IST of Today): Very dense fog observed in many places over Haryana; in some pockets over Punjab; in isolated pockets over West UP, West Rajasthan, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim; Dense fog in many places East UP and in some areas of Bihar. pic.twitter.com/VEi0mIWShr

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) January 11, 2023

The Delhi International Airport Limited tweeted that low-visibility procedures were in progress at the IGI Airport. Passengers have been advised to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.

Some flights (Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Jaisalmer, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Guwahati) are delayed due to fog and cold in the national capital.

Visuals from Delhi airport. pic.twitter.com/ufCty0aPht

— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2023

According to the weather office, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, dense is between 51 and 200 metres, moderate is between 201 and 500 metres, and shallow is between 501 and 1,000 metres.

The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 5.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. The minimum temperature in the capital is likely to rise to 9 degrees Celsius on Thursday (January 12) amid cloudy weather and light rain.

Also read: As Delhi shivers in cold wave, ‘Dilli Ki Sardi’ memes keep spirits high on Twitter

Clouds trap the heat, which gets through during the day, keeping the nighttime temperatures above normal.

However, cloudy weather reduces daytime temperature by preventing exposure to the sun.
Cold wave conditions are predicted to return to the plains of northwest India after the western disturbance retreats and frosty northwesterly winds start blowing from the snow-covered mountains.

(With agency inputs)