Over 100 Flights Delayed, Many Cancelled As North India Reels Under Cold, Dense Fog

The Delhiites on Wednesday once again woke up to dense fog and a freezing day that hit flight and rail operations, leaving thousands of passengers waiting for hours at the airport and railway stations.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a dense layer of fog has engulfed parts of the national capital, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, East Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The foggy conditions also reduced the visibility in the region, which resulted in the delay and cancellation of flight operations from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

According to the airport’s Flight Information Display System (FIDS), as many as 53 flights including 21 Domestic arrivals, 16 Domestic departures, 13 International departures and 3 International arrivals were cancelled, while around 120 flights were delayed due to low visibility amid dense fog, reported news agency ANI.

The passengers were facing difficulty at the airport due to long delays and cancellations of flights.

“My flight is more than two hours late due to the bad weather. However, we cannot blame anyone. We cannot do anything about it,” a passenger shared his ordeal with the news agency.

Several passengers were left stranded at New Delhi Railway Station as around 20 Delhi-bound trains including Puri-Nizamuddin Purushottam Express and Azamgarh-Delhi Junction Kaifiyat Express were running late due to dense fog engulfing the national capital and coldwave conditions.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 4 degree Celsius on Wednesday and 3.5 degree C on Tuesday, while it dipped to a season’s low of 3.3°C on Monday. The cold waves and fog will likely prevail over the next few days as the IMD issued an orange alert over Delhi for Wednesday.

IMD scientist Soma Sen predicted ongoing foggy mornings, cold days, and cold wave conditions across the plains for a few days.

“In Delhi and in North India, we are not expecting much change in the minimum temperature. Maybe a one-degree rise is likely because of the sunny skies, but foggy conditions will persist. The intensity of the cold will gradually decrease, which is a seasonal effect,” she told ANI.

Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital was recorded in the “severe” category on Wednesday with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 405 in Anand Vihar area as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). On Sunday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage 3 of measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to curb the pollution levels.

Earlier on Monday, visibility was recorded as ‘zero for the first time this winter season in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Patiala, Ambala, Chandigarh, Palam, Safdarjung (New Delhi), Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Tezpur, as per the weather department.