Delhi again in the grip of cold wave; Flights continue to be delayed due to low visibility amid dense fog conditions

Most parts of North India remained shivering on Saturday morning as cold wave conditions reduced visibility due to dense fog in the national capital and disrupted rail and air traffic. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said fog was less dense over northwest India, including Delhi, and more dense over Bihar compared to 05:30 am on Friday.

Meanwhile, several flight operations remained affected at IGI airport due to low visibility amid foggy conditions and passengers were seen waiting for the movement of their scheduled flights.

The minimum temperature in the national capital will be around 7 degrees and the maximum temperature will increase up to 15 degrees. Dense to very dense fog and cold to severe cold day conditions have been predicted in Delhi.

Low visibility across North India

IMD has predicted dense to very dense fog conditions over North India during the next 5 days, with visibility of 1200 meters recorded at Delhi Airport. Visibility was recorded at 200 meters in other parts of North India – Jammu and Kashmir; Hisar (Haryana) 200 metres; Chandigarh and Ambala 500 each; Dehradun (Uttarakhand) 500 meters; Churu (Rajasthan) 500.

Visibility in Gaya, Bihar was only 200 meters. Whereas in Jhasi, Bhagalpur, Ranchi and Jamshedpur the visibility was limited to 500 meters.

Notably, there was some respite from the cold weather on January 7 and 8. However, the relief was short-lived as cold winds returned from 9 January.