Delhi residents awoke on Tuesday to dense fog and bone-chilling cold, disrupting aircraft and train operations, leaving hundreds of travelers waiting for hours at airports and railway stations.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city’s Palam (VIDP) and Safdarjung Airports recorded visibility within 500 metres in the morning. At the same time, approximately 30 flights departing from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were delayed and 17 flights were canceled due to poor visibility amid dense fog, according to news agency ANI, citing airport officials.
According to the weather office, a fog patch may be visible across the northern and north-eastern states, with limited visibility regions recorded at their airports.
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“A layer of fog is visible from Punjab to northeast India, spanning Haryana, North MP, Bihar, UP, and West Bengal around 0530 hours IST. Patches of fog can also be detected along India’s east coast, as indicated in the attached satellite imagery,” the IMD stated in a post on X.
“Airports visibility data shows the following visibilities in heavy to very dense fog conditions: Varanasi 00m; Agra 00m; Jammu 00m; Pathankot 00m; Gwalior 00m; Chandigarh 00m; Gaya 20m; Prayagraj 50m; Tejpur 50m; Agartala 100m; Vijaywada 100m; Bagdogra 100m,” according to the report.
Passengers were experiencing difficulties at the airport due to lengthy delays and aircraft cancellations. “My flight was supposed to depart at 8:40 a.m., but it is now scheduled to depart at 10:30 a.m…A traveler reported his experience at IGI airport, stating that the explanation provided was primarily due to weather and fog.
Due to inclement weather on Monday, five planes were diverted and over 100 were delayed at Delhi International Airport.
Several passengers were stuck at New Delhi Railway Station as over 30 trains, including the Rani Kamalapati-Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat and Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express, were delayed owing to severe fog enveloping the national capital and coldwave conditions.
The minimum temperature was 5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, while it dropped to a season low of 3.3°C on Monday. Cold waves and fog are expected to continue over the next three days, with the IMD issuing an orange advisory for Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday. The hottest temperature in the capital city was 19.7°C on Monday.
According to Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD, no substantial changes in the weather are forecast over the next 48 hours, with the minimum likely to remain in the same range.
“An orange signal has been issued indicating that cold wave conditions will remain. We will also continue to experience dense to extremely dense fog in the early hours, which may disrupt flights, trains, and road traffic,” he warned.
Meanwhile, the national capital’s air quality was classified as “severe” on Tuesday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 401 in the Anand Vihar region, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. On Sunday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) implemented Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to reduce pollution levels.
According to the meteorological service, visibility reached nil for the first time this winter season on Monday in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, Ambala, Chandigarh, Patiala, Palam, Safdarjung (New Delhi), Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Tezpur.
