On a foggy Sunday as visibility dropped to 300 meters, railway officials cancelled eight trains, 28 were rescheduled and 90 trains were delayed. Visibility in wee hours was recorded at 50 meters and 100 meters at Sadafarjung and Palam observatories respectively.
The flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), however, remained normal with no disruptions in flight operations due to fog, said a Delhi Airport spokesperson. The humidity level was 90 per cent at 8.30 am. The day is forecast to be clear with dense to very dense fog reappearing next morning, said the MeT official.
According to the Northern Railway official, the visibility related disruptions due to fog can impact major locations in North and Eastern India including New Delhi, lucknow, Saharsa and Varanasi.
"Mail and Express trains such as the Jan Sadharan, lichivi and the Toofan Express are expected to be cancelled, while the premier Rajdhani and Shatabdi will remain unaffected", said the official. While New Delhi-Howrah and the Patna-Amritsar routes have been identified as most affected trains, said the official.
While thermal imaging and radar guidance systems have enabled aircraft to land in foggy conditions, the Railways has been struggling with technology upgrade plans for decades.
The low visibility had caused cancellations of around 6,690 trains till now, while several accidents have been reported during the season in previous years.