100 flights disrupted in Delhi as dense fog envelops North India

Severe cold conditions and dense fog continued across northern India on Wednesday (December 28), disrupting the schedules of flights and trains.

Flights and trains were cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled in several places including Delhi, Amritsar, Jammu, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Patna, Gwalior, and Kanpur.

At least 100 flights were delayed and two were diverted at Delhi’s India Gandhi International Airport due to dense fog early on Wednesday morning (December 28) when the visibility dropped to less than 200 metres.

“Due to bad weather (fog) for three days, over 100 flights are reported delayed from and to Delhi airport. Some have also been diverted to the nearest airport,” a Delhi airport official told ANI.

Non-compliance with CAT-III standards was another reason for flight delays.

“While landing and take-offs are continuing at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT-III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for the updated flight information,” DIAL said.

Also read: Delhi colder than Dharamsala, Nainital; fog blots out sun in parts of northwest India

On Tuesday (December 27), flights run by Vistara, SpiceJet, and IndiGo were also delayed and diverted.

“Early morning fog at Delhi has caused massive delays across the network. We’re trying our best to minimize the inconvenience caused,” IndiGo said on Tuesday.

The weathermen have predicted the cold wave conditions to continue for the next four to five days.

“Cold wave conditions in northwest India would abate from Wednesday (December 28) under the influence of a fresh western disturbance. However, the relief is likely to be short-lived,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather, told PTI.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), severe cold wave conditions are likely over parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. “Dense to very dense fog is also likely to continue in Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh, and north Rajasthan over the next four to five days,” said the IMD’s latest bulletin.

Also read: IMD predicts dense fog over north-west India for next 5 days

Parts of Delhi experienced intense cold conditions on Tuesday as its minimum temperature fell below that of hill stations like Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala and Nainital in Uttarakhand.

Churu in Rajasthan recorded minimum temperatures dropping below 0 degrees Celsius on Dec. 27. Himachal Pradesh also experienced minimum temperatures below freezing point in most places.

Himachal Pradesh’s meteorological centre has predicted light rainfall at isolated places on Thursday (December 29) and rain or snow at isolated places in higher hills on Friday (December 30).

RK Jenamni, a scientist at IMD, said dense to very dense fog will continue to prevail in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. From December 28 onwards, there would be a significant improvement as the cold wave would go due to western disturbance, Jenamni said on Tuesday (December 27). Fresh cold wave conditions will prevail again from December 31- January 1.