Another cold day for Delhi; 22 trains delayed, IndiGo flight operations affected by dense fog

NEW DELHI: A cold spell continued its grip over Delhi and the National Capital Region with Friday morning with Safdarjung, Delhi's main weather station, recording a minimum temperature of 9.4 degrees Celsius, which is 2.5 degrees Celsius colder than normal. As per India Meteorological Department data, the city had recorded its lowest daytime temperature of the season on Thursday.

The minimum temperature recorded at 8:30 am today at the Ridge station in the national capital was at 9.1 degrees Celsius, a departure of 1.4 degrees from the normal temperature. Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 10.0 degrees Celsius, a departure of 3 degrees Celsius below normal. Ayanagar registered minimum of 9.8 degrees Celsius with a departure of 2.8 degrees Celsius from normal temperature.

IMD said the cold wave is likely to persist for the next two to three days in Delhi and the National Capital Region. A meteorological "cold day" is declared when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees below normal, and the minimum temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius. A dense fog was observed in isolated pockets in Delhi, the IMD said at 5:30 am today.

Very Dense fog conditions were observed in isolated pockets over Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, and East Madhya Pradesh; Dense Fog in some pockets over Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu, West Madhya Pradesh; in isolated pockets over Punjab and Delhi, IMD said in a release. Flight operations to/from Jaipur, Patna, and Amritsar are impacted due to bad weather, said IndiGo.

The following flights were cancelled on account of weather constraints-- IXC PNQ 681/ STD 2215hrs, IXC JAI 7413/ STD 2100hrs, IXC. AMD 6395 /STD 1915 Hrs, IXC CCU 6041 /STD 2045 Hrs. Several trains were delayed at Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station due to fog. The Indian Railways in a statement said over 22 trains to the city from various parts of the country are running late due to fog conditions in the northern region.

According to the Indian Railways the trains arriving late in Delhi dated January 5, 2024 include the August Kranti Rajdhani (12953) Express, Bangalore-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (22691) and Jammutawi-New Delhi Rajdhani (12426). The delays continue, with the Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani (20503) clocking in one hour and thirty minutes late, and the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani (22823) a four hours behind.

Be prepared for extended waits for the Puri-New Delhi Puroshottam Express (132801) and Saharsa-New Delhi Vaishali Express (12553), both delayed by four hours or the Ambedkarnagar-Katra Express (12919) at two and a half hours. The Muzaffarpur-Anand Vihar (12557), VSG-Nizamuddin (12779), Chennai-New Delhi GT (12615) are among the trains running late. Meanwhile, rehearsals for Republic Day parade continued at Kartavya Path.

"Visibility recorded (at 0530 hours IST of today) (in metres): Haryana: Ambala- 25; West Uttar Pradesh: Bareilly-25; East Madhya Pradesh: Sagar-25; Punjab: Amritsar-50, Patiala-200; Delhi: Palam-50; West Rajasthan: Churu-50, Bikaner-200; East Rajasthan: Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Udaipur-50 each; West Madhya Pradesh: Bahraich, Gorakhpur- 50 each; Bihar: Gaya, Purnea-50 each." IMD posted on X. As per IMD, cold day to severe cold day conditions are likely to continue over some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during the next two days and decrease thereafter. Also, IMD said that dense to very dense fog is likely to continue over some parts of the plains of Northwest and East India during the next two days and gradually decrease thereafter.

A rise by 2-3 degrees in minimum temperatures is likely over many parts of Central and East India during the next 3 days and no significant change thereafter, the Met Department said. The IMD has issued a public health advisory warning against lung-related health impacts due to dense fog and cold wave. "Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath," the IMD said.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 11 am today was 349. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 4 pm on Thursday was 377, which stands in the "very poor" category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Warning against eye irritation, IMD said that pollutants in the air if exposed may tend to irritate the membranes of the eye causing various infections leading to redness or swelling of the eye.