North India wakes up to cold, foggy Christmas; flights hit; tourists throng Himachal

It was a cold Christmas morning in Delhi on Monday as a thick layer of fog covered the city while the air quality improved from the “severe” to the “very poor” category, officials said.

Cold weather conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana, too, as a blanket of fog enveloped most parts of the two states, reducing visibility early on Monday.

Further north, in Kashmir, minimum temperatures continued to decline in most parts for a second consecutive night even as dense fog disrupted daily life in the Valley early on Monday, officials said.

Flights hit

According to the India Meteorological Department, the visibility around Palam in Delhi was zero at 8.30 am, which led to some flights being delayed.

Eight flights were diverted from the Delhi airport between 6 am and 9 am, said an official. Seven were diverted to Jaipur in Rajasthan and one was diverted to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, the official said.

A Srinagar airport official said some flights from Delhi have been delayed due to poor visibility in the national capital. “We do not have any issues on this side but some Srinagar-bound flights have been delayed due to dense fog in Delhi,” the official said.

In Delhi, the minimum temperature settled at 9.4 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said. The relative humidity at 8.30 am stood at 100 per cent.

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) showed minor improvement on Monday morning. The AQI at 9.05 am stood at 393. The 24-hour AQI was 411 on Sunday.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

Tourists throng Himachal

In Himachal Pradesh, despite the cold, “lakhs” of tourists poured in to enjoy the long Christmas weekend, with the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang joining Kullu and Lahaul & Spiti as the most sought-after destinations.

An estimated 65,000 people in more than 12,000 vehicles crossed the Tunnel on Sunday, according to police data.

The 9.2-km Atal Tunnel is the world’s highest single-tube tunnel above 10,000 feet. Rohtang received heavy snowfall on Saturday, prompting tourists to make a beeline for it.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “We welcome the tourists who have come in such huge numbers, crossing over lakhs.”

Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu also said “lakhs of tourists” have arrived in the state and appealed to them to prioritise safe travel practices and adhere to traffic rules.

Chilled Kashmir

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, recorded a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius, a slight decrease from the previous night’s minus 2.1 degrees, said officials.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius — down from the previous night’s minus 3.9 degrees Celsius.

According to the officials, Pahalgam was the coldest place in the Kashmir Valley.

Gulmarg, the famous ski resort in Baramulla district, recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, the officials said.

Qazigund recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius while Kokernag witnessed the mercury settle at minus 1.6 degrees and Kupwara at minus 3.0 degrees.

The Met department said the weather is likely to remain mainly dry till the end of the month.

Fog hits traffic

A dense layer of fog engulfed Srinagar early on Monday, affecting daily life.

The flow of traffic was lower than usual in the morning while vehicles were seen moving at slow speeds due to the reduced visibility.

“The visibility in Srinagar at 8.30 am was 91 metres due to the fog cover. Motorists should drive carefully due to the low visibility,” an official of the local Met office said.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of “Chilla-i-Kalan” — the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably, leading to the freezing of water bodies, including the Dal Lake, as well as water supply lines in several parts of the Valley.

The chances of snowfall are the highest during this period and most areas, especially the higher reaches, receive heavy snow.

“Chilla-i-Kalan” will end on January 31.

However, the cold conditions will continue after that with a 20-day “Chilla-i-Khurd” (small cold) and a 10-day “Chilla-i-Bachha” (baby cold).

Dense fog in Punjab-Haryana

In Punjab-Haryana, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala reported dense fog, according to a Met official.

Narnaul in Haryana recorded a minimum temperature of 6.4 degrees Celsius while that in Rohtak’s settled at 7.6 degrees.

Fatehabad registered a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab, the night temperatures were recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius in Pathankot, 6.2 degrees in Bathinda, 7.5 degrees in Faridkot, 6.7 degrees in Gurdaspur, 7.2 degrees in Amritsar, 7.1 degrees in Ludhiana and 8.7 degrees in Patiala.

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 7.8 degrees Celsius.

(With agency inputs)