India Weather: Delhi records coldest January in 21 years as dense fog continues to blanket national capital

The Delhi-NCR region woke up to dense fog forthe third consecutive day on Wednesday (Jan 31). The foggy and cold weather has severely affected visibility and travel operations.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi witnessed very dense fog, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha recorded dense fog, and West Uttar Pradesh and Coastal Andhra Pradesh recorded moderate fog as of 05:30 am IST on Wednesday. Visibility in Delhi's Palam area was zero. Moreover, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) recorded zero visibility on Tuesday (Jan 30).

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Due to the dense fog conditions and low visibility, the Delhi airport has issued an advisory for passengers. It stated, "While landing 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 CAT III enables the aircraft to land in low-visibility conditions. The dense fog conditions also delayed many trains which were scheduled to arrive or depart from Delhi stations.

The IMD has predicted light showers in the national capital due to a western disturbance in the Himalayan region on Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius.

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Delhi Records Coldest January In 21 Years

Delhi witnessed a bone-chilling January in 2024, as most days were cold and sunny due to the fog this month. The national capital recorded its coldest January in 21 years in terms of day temperatures, The Times of India reported. The mean maximum temperature in January at Safdarjung was 17.9 degrees Celsius. It was the same as in 2015 and the lowest since 2003.

According to data from IMD, the mean maximum temperature in January has stayed below 18 degrees Celsius only three times in the last 33 years. The other two years were 2015 and 2003, when the mean was 17.6 degrees Celsius. The normal maximum temperature in January was 20.1 degrees Celsius.

According to the IMD All India Weather Forecast Bulletin, dense to very dense fog conditions will prevail in morning hours over isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi on Wednesday (Jan 31) and Friday (Feb 02).

(With inputs from agencies)