North India records longest fog spell in a decade stretching for over a month now

The persistent fog conditions in northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including north India, have broken all records since the beginning of daily monitoring of satellite data in 2014. The thick fog layer sometimes engulfs the entire swathe of over 2,500 km from Lahore in Pakistan to Dhaka in Bangladesh. This winter season, the misty conditions/ low cloud cover has lasted for more than a month at a stretch, making it the longest fog spell in a decade.

Previous record of longest fog spell

Previously, the longest fog spell was recorded in the winters of 2019-20. However, the spell just lasted for 18-19 days. This time around, the spell has already gone on for 33 days and is likely to last for 3-4 more days.

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"This winter, fog and low-cloud coverage over the Indo-Gangetic plains started around Dec 24 in the western end covering Punjab and Haryana. It spread to Delhi, north Rajasthan and west UP by Dec 25, and gradually covered east UP in the next few days and Bihar by Dec 31.Thereafter, it extended into parts of Bengal, Bangladesh and the northeast," RK Jenamani, senior IMD scientist who specialises in fog, was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Disruptions at Delhi airport

The foggy conditions, meanwhile, are continuing to disrupt flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. As per a report by ANI, several flights were delayed and flight operations were affected as dense fog continued to grip the national capital on the country’s Republic Day.

Early morning, the Delhi airport authorities issued a passenger advisory at 5:06 am on X, saying that low visibility procedures were in progress at the airport and that all flight operations were normal at the time.

A prediction by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) estimates that dense to very dense fog conditions were likely to prevail in several areas of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh during the nights and mornings from January 25 to 30.

(With inputs from agencies)