Dense fog disrupts life across Punjab, Chandigarh; flights delayed; rain likely from tomorrow
PTC Web Desk: Daily life was severely affected across Punjab and Chandigarh on Friday as dense fog enveloped large parts of the region, reducing visibility and disrupting air and road traffic. The impact was most severe in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, with Amritsar reporting near-zero visibility during the morning hours.
Foggy conditions were also recorded in Tarn Taran, Bathinda, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Moga, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Nawanshahr, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Fazilka, Muktsar and Mansa, officials said.
At the Chandigarh airport, dense fog led to delays in at least five flights, including services to and from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru, causing inconvenience to passengers.
In a fog-related accident in Jalandhar, a car fell into a pit dug for an under-construction bridge late at night due to extremely poor visibility. The vehicle was badly damaged and the driver sustained injuries. The police said the pit had not been properly marked with reflective tape. The car, bearing a Himachal Pradesh registration number, was heading towards Jalandhar Cantonment.
Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of rising pollution levels in the city and has sought a detailed report from the administration on the deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI).
The Meteorological Department has issued a dense fog alert for Saturday as well. Rainfall is likely to begin from December 20, with light showers expected over parts of Punjab for three consecutive days.
According to the Meteorological Centre in Chandigarh, light rain is likely at isolated places between December 20 and 22, while the weather is expected to remain dry on December 18–19 and December 23–24. No significant change in minimum temperatures is forecast over the next 24 hours, after which temperatures across the north-western plains may rise by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius.
On Thursday, Nawanshahr emerged as the coldest district in Punjab, recording a minimum temperature of 6.9 degrees Celsius.
- PTC NEWS
