Delhi – which has been reeling under the coldwave – saw a slight rise in minimum temperature today. However, the dense layer of fog was still in place, leading to poor visibility. As a result, around 40 flights from IGI airport in the national capital were delayed. The Safdarjung area in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degree Celsius today, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. This comes a day after Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 6.4 degree Celsius.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), fog is classified as ‘shallow” when visibility dips below 1,000 metres, as ‘moderate’ when visibility is between 200 and 500 metres, and as ‘dense’ when it is below 200 metres. ‘Very dense’ implies that visibility is below 50 metres.
Even though Delhi saw a slight rise in the temperature, dense fog have lowered the visibility in the capital city which led to delay in several flights and trains.
List of Delhi-bound flights delayed today
Some flights (Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Jaisalmer, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Guwahati) have been delayed due to fog and cold in the national capital, news agency ANI reported.
The agency later added, according to sources, “The departure of around 50 domestic flights was delayed due to inclement weather at Delhi airport; 18 arrival flights (domestic) were also delayed.
Meanwhile, trains were also affected as the New Delhi Railways Station was engulfed by fog. The cold wave and dense fog have also affected routine traffic and normal life at IGI airport.
Meteorologists attribute the long spell of intense cold to a large gap between two western disturbances, which meant frosty winds from the snow-clad mountains blew in for a longer-than-usual period.
According to IMD officials, north India, including Delhi, will get short-term relief under the influence of the fresh western disturbance. When a western disturbance — a weather system characterised by warm moist winds from the Middle East — approaches a region, the wind direction changes.