India's Delhi-NCR battles dense fog, 'severe' air quality; IMD predicts 'colder' January

People in India's Delhi-NCR witnessed bone-chilling winter on Sunday (Dec 31) as cold wave on the last day of the year and a thick fog layer swept the entire national capital and itsadjoining areas.

The minimum temperature at the capital city's primary weather station - Safdarjung Observatory. was recorded at 11 degrees Celsius. The city remained enveloped in dense fog which reduced visibility. The vehicular movement around Subroto Park, DND flyover, and India Gate remained crippled because of poorvisibility.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 'very dense' fog is marked when visibility falls between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 metres is 'dense', 201 and 500 metres 'moderate', and 501 and 1,000 metres 'shallow'.

The met office, in its forecast, said that dense to very dense fog will persistat most places in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi and many places in Uttar Pradesh as well as some places in Uttarakhand.

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Mercuryto plunge further

The IMD, meanwhile, said that the mercury will dip further in the first week of January 2024. The minimum temperature is expected to remain in the range of 10 to 7 degrees Celsius in the national capital at the Safdarjung Observatory.

Passengerstravelling to and from the national capital on Saturday(Dec 30) had a harrowing timedue to the foggy weather conditions, as many trains and flights were eitherdelayed or diverted because of low visibility caused by dense fog.

As per the sources, nearly 80 flights were delayed because of bad weather conditions at Delhi's IGI Airport till 8.30 am on Saturday. Many trains, which included both local and long-distance services, faced disruptions which left passengers stranded and frustrated.

As per the Indian Railways, nearly 23 trains were reported to be running behind schedule in the Delhi area. Trains which are running late include Puri- New Delhi Purushottam Express, Kanpur-New Delhi Shramshakti, Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express, Saharsa- New Delhi Vaishali Express, Rewa-Anand Vihar Express, Allahabad- New Delhi Prayagarj Express, Azamgarh - Delhi Kaifiyat Express, Bhagalpur - Anand Vihar Vikramshila, Rajendranagar - New Delhi Sampoorn Kranti.

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"Trains are stopping at the outer of every big station. This is the major problem. This should be sorted out," said a passenger at Anand Vihar Railway Station, while speaking to ANI.

Meanwhile, Jorhat in Assam,Pathankot, Jammu, Agra, and Bhatinda recordedzero visibility Sunday morning (Dec 31). IMD added that visibility was reported at 25 meters in Ambala, 50 meters in Bikaner, Patiala, Chandigarh, and Gwalior, Jhansi. Meanwhile, visibility was recorded at 200 meters in Amritsar and Hisar.

(With inputs from agencies)