A bitter cold, brought on by a sharp dip in the minimum temperature across north India, compounded the woes of commuters already affected by poor visibility. The bone-chilling cold disrupted daily life across States.
The 40-day harsh winter period, known as 'Chilla-i-Kalan,' ended on Tuesday with no snowfall in the plains of Kashmir and below-normal precipitation in the higher reaches of the valley. While there was light to moderate snowfall in the higher reaches at the fag-end of the 40-day period, most of the Chilla-i-Kalan, when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent, remained dry. The valley witnessed a prolonged dry spell this winter, with no snowfall in the plains.
During the 40-day harsh winter period, a cold wave sweeps the region, and temperatures drop considerably, leading to the freezing of water bodies and water in supply pipes. The cold conditions continue in even after the culmination of 'Chilla-i-Kalan' with a 20-day 'Chilla-i-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day 'Chilla-i-Bachha' (baby cold).
On the other hand, a day after bright sunshine, dense fog shrouded Delhi and its adjacent areas on Tuesday amid the prevailing cold conditions as the minimum temperature was recorded at 8.7 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature settled at 21.4 degrees Celsius.
Jafarpur weather station recorded the maximum temperature at 13.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the city. At 5.30 am, visibility plummeted to a mere 50 meters, leading to cancellations of at least 14 flights from Delhi airport, officials said.
The inclement weather resulted in the delay of 82 flights and the cancellation of five flights at arrivals, officials said. The departures were also significantly affected, with 222 flights getting delayed and nine being cancelled, noted Flightradar24.
Owing to the dense layers of fog and the resulting low visibility, both flight and train operations have been affected.
In a statement on X, Delhi Airport said, "While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted." Notably, the CAT III instrument is an anti-fog landing system that helps planes land in low-visibility conditions, such as dense fog, snow, and rain. It allows for landing with a minimum visibility of up to 50 meters."
Delhi's Palam and Safdarjung areas recorded visibility at just 50 metres Janpath Road, Anand Vihar, Ridge, Mehrauli, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, and Nirankari Colony were covered under a thick blanket of fog this morning. The Delhi airport also issued an advisory for passengers as several domestic and international flights were delayed owing to the fog conditions.
Delhi got no sunlight as a thick and dreary fog, coupled with shivering winds, with a light drizzle adding to the chill on Tuesday. Across the national capital, people on the streets were pictured huddling around bonfires while commuters struggled in the face of the biting chill and poor visibility. The minimum temperature in Lodhi Road was recorded at 8.4 degree Celsius, Ridge at 8.8 degree Celsius, Ayanagar at 9 degree Celsius and Palam at 9.4 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature was recorded in Palam at 18.2 degree Celsius, Lodhi Road at 19.4 degree Celsius, Ridge at 17.4 degree Celsius, Ayanagar at 20.4 degree Celsius and Narela at 15.4 degree Celsius.
The weather department has predicted light/moderate scattered to fairly widespread rainfall very likely over Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi and isolated to scattered rainfall over Uttar Pradesh during 31st January and 01st February due to western disturbance. It has also predicted dense to very dense fog from January 31 toFebruary1 inDelhi and north India.
According to railways, at least 21 Delhi bound trains were delayed by one to12 hours, causing inconvenience to hundreds of passengers. The air quality index recorded at 9 am on Tuesday stood at 364 ('very poor').
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a similar situation was observed in several cities of the neighbouring states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. In a statement, IMD said, "Very dense fog in isolated pockets of northwest Rajasthan; dense fog in isolated pockets of East Uttar Pradesh; moderate fog in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana and West UP and shallow fog in isolated pockets of Delhi".
