At 3.5°C, Delhi Wakes Up to Coldest Day; AQI 'Severe', Zero Visibility in Parts of North India

Thick blankets of fog engulfed the national capital on Sunday morning, while severely affecting the visibility in the region. For the second consecutive time, Delhi recorded its coldest day with the minimum temperature at 3.5 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, the air quality index (AQI) also plunged to the ‘severe’ category, as per the pollution control board.

Owing to the dense fog, as many as 22 trains approaching Delhi are running late.

VISIBILITY AFFECTS DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the, The Indira Gandhi International airport – Delhi’s Palam, recorded zero visibility amid the dense fog conditions since 5:00 am today.

The runway visibility range (RVR) is in the allowed range of 50 to 100 m as under Cat IIIB — is an Instrument Landing System (ILS) allowing flights to make landings in bad weather conditions like fog, snow, or rain — a Hindustan Times report said.

At least ten flights were diverted at the Delhi airport due to bad weather, an official said. Nine of the flights were diverted to Jaipur and one to Mumbai.

So far, Sunday’s fog is being termed to be the worst level of fog this season.

For the first time in this winter season, zero visibility has been reported from Amritsar to Dibrugarh across Ganganagar, Patiala, Ambala, Chandigarh, Palam, Safdarjung, Bareilly, Lucknow, Barhraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj and Assam’s Tejpur.

Visuals from Delhi’s Mathura Road show the effects of dense fog layers on vehicular movement.

Dense fog covers were also reported from over Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Commuters travelling on the highway need to be extra cautious given the extremely low visibility. The use of fog lights is being highly suggested by weather departments.

It is best being suggested that the journeys be halted until the fog conditions get better in the morning hours, especially for those travelling on expressways.

Meanwhile the AQI in Anand Vihar was recorded at 478, in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 465, in IGI Airport (T3) at 465 and ITO Delhi recorded an AQI of 455.

DELHI’S COLDEST DAY OF THE SEASON

The national capital on Saturday had recorded its lowest temperature of the season at 3.6 degrees Celsius. The weather department had also issued a red alert in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The minimum temperature in Lodhi Road was recorded at 3.4 degrees, Safdarjung at 3.6, Ridge at 3.9 and Palam at 5.8 degrees Celsius.

Train and flight operations were also severely hit on Saturday due to the adverse weather conditions.

IMD further issued a yellow alert in the national capital for the next three days as cold wave conditions are unlikely to abate.