134 flights, 22 trains delayed as dense fog engulfs Delhi and Punjab

134 flights, 22 trains delayed as dense fog engulfs Delhi and Punjab 

New Delhi : Dense fog engulfed the national capital on Thursday as cold wave gripped the city, leading to train and flight delays, causing inconvenience to passengers.

Visuals from the Indira Gandhi International Airport showed passengers queuing up at the gates of the airport amid dense fog.

The Delhi airport reported delays in flight operations affecting 134 flights, both arrivals and departures (domestic and international), due to fog. While 35 international flight departures got delayed from Delhi, 28 international arrivals got delayed as well. On the other hand, 43 domestic departures and 28 domestic arrivals got delayed.

Twenty-two trains were delayed at the New Delhi Railway Station, amid low visibility. Trains like the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani and Jammu Tawi Rajdhani were running late for more than an hour. Visuals from the station showed several passengers waiting amid biting cold.

On Wednesday, the IMD issued a dense fog alert for the national capital. "It is to inform to all that Dense fog has already set in over some pockets of Delhi including at IGI Airport Palam since 0830pm today of 27th Dec 2023," the IMD said in a post on 'X'.

"Dense fog warning for Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi: Very dense fog in night & morning hours till 30th Dec. morning and Dense fog on 31st Dec. 2023," it said in another post. 


Punjab

Visibility was severely impacted in several areas of Delhi on Wednesday morning as dense fog engulfed the city in the early hours and minimum temperature was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal.

An orange alert was issued by the Met department across the city at 8 am as visibility in many parts remained around 50 metres.


Trains are running late and there could be flight delays and cancellations, according to an official.

As per the satellite images taken at 5.15 am, dense to very dense fog conditions prevailed across the national capital.

About 25 trains scheduled for arrival at Delhi railway stations are running late due to fog.

However, the situation may improve after 11 am, according to an official of private weather forecasting agency Skymet.

"Very dense fog engulfed Delhi NCR. Visibility is almost nil at many places. At 0730 hours, Palam has reported 50 metres visibility. Take care and drive carefully. Improvement expected after 11 am," Skymet official Mahesh Palawat said in a post on X.

"Flight delay and flight cancellation is possible. Dense fog to impact rail, road, air traffic today across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP & north Rajasthan," he said in another post.

The AQI was recorded in the “very poor” category at 383, up from 374 recorded at 9.05 am on Tuesday.