As fog engulfs Delhi, flights delayed due to low visibility

NEW DELHI: As many as 10 flights, scheduled to depart from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), was delayed because of dense fog, sources informed on Wednesday.

Among the flight routes affected by the severe fog were Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Jaisalmer, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Jaipur, and Delhi-Guwahati, the airport sources informed.

Already reeling under a cold wave since the beginning of the new year, residents in the national capital on Wednesday woke to a chilly morning with a thick layer of fog. Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degree Celsius around 6.10 am. According to the Met department, the visibility in Palam was recorded at 100 meters at 6.10 am.

As was forecast, dense to very dense fog was observed over parts of Punjab, Northwest Rajasthan, Jammu division, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tripura. "Dense/Very Dense Fog layer (in the white patch) extends from Punjab to Bihar across Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh," tweeted the India Meteorological Department.

On the other hand, the Northern Railway informed on Wednesday that 26 trains were running late due to fog. Meanwhile, the national capital continued to reel under worsening air quality, with the overall AQI breaching the 'severe' category, at 421.

On Monday, the AAP government in the national capital imposed a temporary ban on the plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers till January 12.

The Air Quality Index from 0 to 100 is considered as good, from 100 to 200 is moderate, 200 to 300 is poor, from 300 to 400 is very poor and 400 to 500 or above is considered severe.