Amid cold wave in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), with the temperature at 7.8 degrees Celsius, slightly higher than usual, visibility in various parts of Delhi was significantly affected on Wednesday morning. Dense fog enveloped the city during the early hours, causing nearly zero visibility and posing challenges for residents.
An orange alert, calling for the residents to remain prepared, was issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) across the city at 8 am as visibility in many parts remained around 50 metres. IMD advised people to use fog lights during driving, cover up the face while going out, avoid outings unless emergency, and be in touch with airlines, railways, and State transportation ahead of the scheduled journey. IMD further advised the power department to keep maintenance teams ready as chances of tripping are high during dense fog.
The IMD advisory further said dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and, in case exposed, it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. This also impacts people having asthma, bronchitis, and causes eye irritation leading to various infections, leading to redness or swelling of the eye.
The visibility in Delhi’s main weather station Safdarjung was recorded at 50 metres while in Palam it stood at 125 metres at 8.30 am.
Several trains and flights have experienced delays in their operations due to the pervasive fog. IMD classifies fog intensity into four types: shallow, moderate, dense, and very dense fog. The visibility ranges from 999m to 500m, 499m to 200m, 199m to 50m, and < 50m, respectively.
“Very dense fog engulfed Delhi NCR. Visibility is almost nil at many places. At 07:30 hours Palam reported 50 metres visibility. Take care and drive carefully. Improvement expected after 11 am,” Skymet official Mahesh Palawat said in a post on ‘X’.
The air quality index (AQI) recorded in the “very poor” category at 383 at 9 am which settled at 380 at 4 pm. The AQI scale categorises levels from 0 to 500, with Anand Vihar breaching the “severe”. At the Anand Vihar area, PM2.5 levels remained in the “severe” category standing at 500, and PM10 reached 500, and CO plummeted to 118, classified as ‘moderate’,” according to the Central Pollution Control Board. AQI stood at 799 in Shahdara, 641 in Wazirpur, 621 in Noida,558 in Satyawati College, 366 in Major Dhyan Singh Stadium at 2 pm.
Besides Delhi-NCR, the entire North India has been grappling with a cold wave as temperatures continue to plummet in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Delhi-NCR.
As per satellite imagery, a layer of dense fog has shrouded parts of northwest India and adjoining central India, including Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, north Rajasthan, and north Madhya Pradesh.
According to the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System (FIDS), owing to the dense fog, the airport is facing delays which so far has affected approximately 110 flights and some possibly facing cancellations. This includes disruptions in eight international departures, four international arrivals, 22 domestic departures, and five domestic arrivals. Four flights were diverted at the Delhi airport. The official said three flights of SpiceJet and one flight of Air India were diverted to Jaipur between 0900 and 1200 hrs. Air India on Wednesday said passengers flying to and from the Delhi airport can reschedule or cancel their bookings without any extra charges in case their flights are likely to be affected due to fog. The offer is part of the airline’s FogCare initiative that was introduced last winter.
In light of the prevailing situation, Delhi Airport has issued an advisory for the non-CAT III flights stating that while landing and takeoffs continue, flights not compliant with CAT III (Category III) standards are likely to face obstacles. Passengers have been advised to contact their respective airlines for the latest flight information and to check if their flights are CAT III compliant.
