Dense fog; flights, trains cancelled: Delhi wakes up to inclement Wednesday

Delhi woke up to an inclement Wednesday morning as dense fog engulfed the national capital. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in several parts of Delhi dipped to "severe", according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Met department issued an orange alert in the city at 8 am as visibility dipped to around 50 metres.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) colour codes, a yellow alert calls for authorities to be aware, an orange alert calls for them to remain prepared, and a red alert calls for the most vigil and action.

The visibility in Delhi's main weather station, Safdarjung, was recorded at 50 metres, while in Palam, it stood at 125 metres at 5:30 am.

"Very dense fog engulfed Delhi NCR. Visibility is almost nil in many places. At 07:30 hours Palam reported 50 metres visibility. Take care and drive carefully," Skymet official Mahesh Palawat said in a post on X.

"Flight delay and flight cancellation are possible. Dense fog to impact rail, road, air traffic today across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP & north Rajasthan," Palawat said in another post.

Trains delayed, flights cancelled

According to reports, around 25 trains scheduled for arrival at Delhi railway stations are running late due to fog. Moreover, according to the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System, the Delhi airport is facing delays affecting approximately 110 flights, both domestic and international arrivals and departures, due to dense fog. 28 International departure flights, 15 International arrival flights, 42 Domestic departure flights and 25 Domestic Arrival were affected as of 8:30 am on Wednesday morning.

The Delhi Airport Authority has issued an advisory stating that while landing and takeoffs continue, flights not compliant with CAT III (category III) standards may face disruptions.

"While landings and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," the Delhi airport stated in a post of X.

Notably, CAT III refers to a type of Instrument landing system that allows flights to land in low visibility conditions such as fog, snow and rain.

Delhi's air quality dips

While the overall AQI continued to remain "very poor" at 383 on Wednesday morning, parts of the national capital witnessed the air quality dip to "severe". These included areas like Anand Vihar, ITO, RK Puram and Wazirpur.

Last week, Delhi's environment minister, Gopal Rai, announced the imposition of Grap-3 norms in the capital banning BS-III and BS-IV diesel vehicles in the city.

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".

Weather expected to improve by 11 am

According to Palawat, Delhi's weather is expected to improve by 11 am. In his X post, he said, "Improvement expected after 11 am."

(With agency inputs)