Dense fog engulfed Delhi for the second consecutive day, reducing visibility to zero in many areas, due to which 81 trains were delayed and 15 flights were diverted. The weather department has predicted dense to very dense fog during the day.
Dense fog engulfed Delhi for the second consecutive day, reducing visibility to zero in many areas, due to which 81 trains were delayed and 15 flights were diverted. The weather department has predicted dense to very dense fog during the day. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 21 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal.
Giving this information on Saturday, Meteorological Department officials said that the visibility was zero at Palam till 11:30 pm on Friday and at Safdarjung till 12:30 am on Saturday.
The fog was accompanied by mainly calm surface winds, which prevented the fog from clearing.
At 7 am, the general visibility at the Indira Gandhi International Airport was zero with very dense fog. The runway visual range (RVR) on the runway was in the range of 100-250 metres, with CAT III conditions.
The weather department said that such very dense fog with zero visibility with CAT III conditions has been prevailing at the airport since 11:30 pm on Friday.
Delhi International Airport Limited, the company that operates the Delhi airport, posted an email at 6:56 am on ‘X’, saying, “While landings and takeoffs continue at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may be affected. Passengers are requested to contact the concerned airline for updated flight information. We deeply regret any inconvenience caused.”
The CAT III facility allows aircraft to fly even in low visibility conditions.
Northern Railway said a total of 59 trains were running late by up to six hours and 22 trains were running late by about 8 hours.
In a related development, the air quality in the capital was in the ‘very poor’ category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 9 am at 380, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.
