Dense fog and low visibility paralysed fight operations for over six hours at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday morning. Over 173 flights were delayed as runaway visibility dropped to less than 50 metres. Around 70 north-bound trains were also affected as dense fog stalled operations at the railway stations.
With the minimum temperature plunging to 4.2 degrees Celsius — the lowest this season — city experienced the coldest December 22 in the last five years.
According to the MeT department, Monday’s minimum was four notches below normal and two points less than Sunday’s 6.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum was recorded at 15.8 degrees Celsius which too was six notches below normal.
Dense fog enveloped the national Capital in the morning with visibility dropping to zero in the early hours. However, visibility improved to 150 metres by 9 am.
According to an airport official, the low visibility procedure (lVP) was enforced at 3:12 am and terminated at 2:50 pm. During this period two flights, one each of Air India and Jet Airways were also cancelled due to the bad weather at Kullu and Chandigarh, the official said.
Of the 173 flights, 97 were the departing flights while the rest were arriving at the airport from other destinations.
Besides, around 70 north-bound trains including Rajdhani Express coming from Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubneshwar, Sealdah, Magadh, lichhvih and Purshuttom Express were running late by several hours.
Though traffic moved slowly due to foggy conditions, senior traffic police official denied any major traffic jams in the city.