Dense fog in Delhi on Thursday morning though delayed over two dozen trains, flight operations had normalised due to improved visibility. According to airport officials, the arrival and departure of flights was not affected as severely as it was in the last three days. Although 14 flights were cancelled, airport officials said that these were either due to poor weather conditions at the destination or operational reasons of the airlines.
“Flight operations were normal on Thursday as the airport did not experience the spell of dense fog. Though the airport witnessed moderate fog, visibility was good enough for operations,” said an airport official. The runway visibility was above 1,200 metres through the night for both main as well as third runway but it dropped to 500 metres around 7.30 am when fog intensified. However, the visibility improved to 600 metres within 30 minutes. As the visibility dropped to 500 metres, the landing were taking place using CAT I instrument landing system, but did not have any impact on the smooth operations of flights.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), visibility dropped to less than 300 metres in some parts of the city at 8.30 am. “With foggy conditions persisting in parts of north India, Northern Railway cancelled services of 53 trains for 10 days from December 21. The dense fog continued to affect the time schedule of 37 trains with many running late by more than 10 hours,” said a Northern Railway official. The national Capital has been witnessing dense fog since Monday and as per the Met Office, there will be no respite for the next few days. The Met has also predicted a light drizzle by the weekend, which can lower temperatures further.
The minimum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 10.8°C, three degrees above the season’s average, while the maximum temperature was 22.4°C. The Met Office said Delhi will experience a clear sky, but fog returned in the late evening.
Flight operations had been badly affected for past three day after dense fog engulfed the airport and runway visibility dropped to less than 50 metres, forcing airport authorities to suspend operations for hours.
On Monday, flight operations remained suspended for about two hours and on Tuesday for four hours. On Wednesday, operations were suspended for two hours, leading to delays in schedule of over 500 flights in the last three days