Dense fog delays flights and trains, zero visibility in Delhi

PTC ews Desk: A thick layer of dense fog enveloped Delhi and its adjacent regions, causing visibility to plummet to zero and disrupting transportation services amid prevailing cold day conditions in north India and various parts of the country.

On Friday morning, Delhi and its environs woke up to a dense fog blanket, severely affecting visibility and causing delays in the movement of flights and trains. The Railways reported delays of up to six hours for 23 Delhi-bound trains due to the pervasive fog. Indira Gandhi International Airport witnessed zero visibility, with no anticipated improvement within the next two hours. Consequently, both arrival and departure flights experienced delays ranging from one to four hours owing to the challenging visibility conditions.

In response, the Delhi airport issued an advisory urging passengers to contact their respective airlines for the latest flight information. Cold day conditions persisted in northern, eastern, and northeastern parts of the country, contributing to zero-meter visibility in several locations, including Delhi, as per the weather office.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported dense fog in the early morning hours, recording zero-meter visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4:30 am, with no anticipated improvement in the next two hours. On Thursday, Delhi registered a minimum temperature of 5.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, while the maximum temperature stood at 18.1 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

The IMD forecasted the likelihood of dense to very dense fog conditions in certain parts of Punjab and isolated pockets in Haryana and Chandigarh between January 12 to January 16.

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Additionally, dense to very dense fog conditions were predicted for certain hours in the morning in some parts of East Uttar Pradesh and isolated pockets over West Uttar Pradesh on January 12 and 13, with dense fog expected to persist for the following three days.

The IMD further indicated the potential for dense fog in the morning in isolated pockets of Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, and Jammu division on January 12, extending to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and north Madhya Pradesh on January 12 and 13. Further, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura could experience dense fog from January 12 to 16.

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The weather department anticipated cold day to severe cold day conditions in parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh on January 11 and 12, with isolated pockets of Punjab likely to persist between January 13 and 15. Cold day conditions were expected in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand until January 12, with ground frost conditions predicted in Uttarakhand and Rajasthan on January 12 and 13.

Additionally, a fresh western disturbance is forecasted to impact the Western Himalayan Region from January 16, leading to light rainfall/snowfall in isolated places in Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad and Himachal Pradesh on January 12 and 13, followed by another spell on January 16 and 17 in the same regions.

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Anticipated rainfall withdrawal in south India, says IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has indicated that conditions are becoming conducive for the withdrawal of Northeast Monsoon rains in regions including Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, Kerala, the adjacent areas of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Rayalaseema, and South Interior Karnataka by approximately January 15.

Over the next 24 hours, light to moderate rainfall is expected in isolated locations in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Lakshadweep. Subsequently, dry weather is predicted to prevail in these regions, according to the latest IMD forecast.

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