Severe Cold Continues In North India; Flights, Trains Delayed Due To Dense Fog
In New Delhi, the mercury dipped to a minimum of 8.5 degrees on Saturday, with forecasts predicting dense fog conditions persisting on January 22 and January 23. Commuters travelling to and from the National Capital faced disruptions, with delays in both flights and trains due to low visibility amid plummeting temperatures in Northern India.
Low visibility was recorded in several parts of Northern India causing inconvenience to passengers travelling by train and air. According to the IMD, Ambala in Haryana reported 200 visibility; Hissar 500; Delhi: Safdarjung 500 and Palam-1100.
Around 11 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country, like Khajaraho-Kurushetra Express, Ambedkarnagar-Katra, and Vasco-Nizamuddin Express, among others, were delayed due to dense fog conditions.
Notably, the Indian Meteorological Department on Saturday predicted dense fog conditions on January 22 and 23 in the National Capital and fog conditions on the rest of the days. The temperature will hover between 6 degrees and a maximum of 20 degrees until January 25.
SpiceJet airlines on Saturday morning informed that flight services in Dharmashala and Jammu may get affected amid cold conditions.
“Due to poor visibility in Dharamshala (DHM), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may be affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status. Due to poor visibility in Jammu (IXJ), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may be affected,” SpiceJet posted on X.
Meanwhile, the arrival of nearly two dozen passenger trains to Delhi was delayed by up to 6 hours or more, and several flights were also late due to fog and poor visibility conditions on Friday.
As per the India Meteorological Department, the visibility was recorded as low as 50 metres at around 5.30 am on Friday in isolated regions. This included parts of Punjab, West Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Tripura, Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and East Rajasthan.