The national capital of Delhi froze from an intense cold spell on Thursday morning as a thick layer of fog disrupted visibility affecting flight operations from the airport. Delhi has been witnessing flight and train delays over the past several days due to fog and weather conditions. This year saw massive flight delays and cancellations from the Delhi airport and the issue was noticed by Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
People were seen sitting around bonfires to keep themselves warm and battle the cold wave prevailing in the national capital. Several have also been taking shelter at the night shelters to escape the freezing temperatures.
Amid the prevailing weather condition, the capital’s pollution levels also dipped as the air quality index slipped to the severe category on Wednesday evening with a reading of 405 at 8 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 8.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday — a slight relief from the 6.9 degrees Celsius recorded on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The weather department predicted dense fog at isolated places in the capital for Thursday morning.
So far, Delhi experienced five cold days and five cold wave days in January which is the highest in the last 13 years the weather department said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the maximum temperature settled at 19.5 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal and as the day progressed some improvement was noted in the visibility as Safdarjung recorded a visibility of 500 metres and Palam recording 700 metres at 11.45 pm. Delhi’s IGI Airport recorded a visibility of 600 metres on early morning Wednesday.
The dense fog led to delays in 24 Delhi-bound trains, the Indian railways said. Flight operations were also hit.
Twenty-four Delhi-bound trains were delayed by one to six hours due to fog in parts of northern India, according to the Indian Railways.
