Around 110 flights delayed, traffic affected as Delhi wakes up to dense fog

As cold wave maintains its grip in northern India, a thick layer of fog engulfed the national capital on Wednesday.

Citizens of Delhi woke up to a hazy morning as dense fog covered the city leading to low visibility and disruption in traffic, causing a delay for the commuters.

The temperature in the national capital dropped to almost seven degrees. The Indian meteorological department has issued a warning of 'dense to very dense' fog in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh during 27th-29th December and over isolated pockets of North Rajasthan and north Madhya Pradesh on 27th December.

According to the Met Department Visibility recorded at 5:30 AM today was, Amritsar (airport)-0, Patiala-25; Srinagar-25; Bareilly-25, Lucknow-25, Paryagraj-25 & Varanasi-50, Jhansi-200; Ganganagar-50, Kota-500; Delhi- Safdarjung-50; Delhi (Palam)-125.

 

Morning visuals from Delhi's Dhaula Kuan, India gate, Barapullah and the Delhi-Noida border area showed them engulfed in dense fog.

Some trains arriving and departing from New Delhi, were also delayed due to fog and low visibility.

The IMD said that as per satellite imagery from 6:45 AM, layer of dense Fog is persisting over parts of northwest India & adjoining central India including Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, North Rajasthan, North Madhya Pradesh. Dense to very dense fog conditions are being reported over these regions . A layer of dense fog is also seen over parts of Jammu & Kashmir.

Meanwhile, as per information sourced from the Delhi Airport FIDS (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 complaint with CAT III (category III) standards may face disruptions.

"While landings and take offs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III complaint 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 the flights to land in low visibility conditions such as fog, snow and rain.

The IMD also warned of possible health impacts on people due to the dense fog in the national capital. "Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath," IMD said in a release.