Light overnight rainfall affects flight operations in Delhi, passengers inconvenienced

NEW DELHI: Light rainfall overnight on Saturday across the national capital hit ground operations and disrupted flight services at Indira Gandhi International Airport, officials said. A steady and persistent drizzle, combined with a thin layer of fog that enveloped the national capital on Saturday morning, through flight operations haywire at Delhi airport, with several passengers left high and dry.

Among the delayed flights, a significant number of them were scheduled to fly to international destinations such as Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Vienna, Toronto and Bangkok. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature in the national capital was recorded at 7 degrees Celsius on Sunday, one degree below normal. The Met further predicted thundershowers and drizzle across pockets of the national capital on Sunday.

"Generally cloudy sky and moderate fog in the morning and light rain thundershower accompanied with gusty winds," the IMD posted from its official handle on X. Further, according to the top weather forecasting agency, foggy conditions were observed at 5.30 am on Sunday while dense to very dense fog was experienced in isolated pockets of Odisha. Moderate to shallow fog was also seen in isolated pockets of Bihar, Jammu-Kashmir, eastern Rajasthan and Gangetic West Bengal.

At 5:30 am on Sunday, the visibility was recorded at less than 500 metres in East Rajasthan and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, while it was down to 50 metres in several areas of Odisha. "Visibility recorded (at 0530 hours IST) : Odisha: Paradip-25, Chandbali-50, Balasore-200, Gopalpur-500; Bihar: Purnea-200; Jammu & Kashmir: Kupwara & Banihal-500 each; East Rajasthan: Jaipur-500; Gangetic West Bengal: Digha-500," the IMD posted on X. Earlier, on Saturday, the IMD pegged visibility at Delhi's main weather station at Safdarjung and Palam at 1500 metres and 800 metres respectively at 8.30 am.

"No dense fog is reported at Delhi Airports at 0830 hrs IST of today, the 03rd Feb 2024. Palam (IGI) Airport is reporting 800m visibility and Safdarjung Airport is reporting 1500 m visibility," read a post on the IMD's official X handle on Saturday. It also reported no change in minimum temperature in the national capital from Friday. Further, according to the chief public relations officer (CPRO), Northern Railways, a total of 17 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country were delayed due to foggy and misty conditions.