Delhi Traffic Disrupted as Dense Fog Affects Over 110 Flights and 25 Trains
The movement of traffic in Delhi faced significant disruption as dense fog enveloped northern India on Wednesday morning, causing visibility to plummet to merely 50 meters. The severe weather conditions prompted a red alert from the weather office for “very dense fog” in the national capital, coinciding with the persistence of cold wave conditions. Northern railways reported delays for approximately 25 trains heading towards Delhi.
The foggy conditions resulted in multiple collisions on roads throughout Uttar Pradesh, with reports of several incidents. Tragically, one person lost their life, and 12 others sustained injuries following a series of vehicle collisions on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. In Bareilly, a speeding truck collided with a house situated near the Bareilly-Sultanpur highway.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) anticipated “dense to very dense fog conditions” across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.
In Delhi, the Palam observatory, adjacent to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, recorded a visibility level of 125 meters, whereas the Safdarjung observatory registered a mere 50 meters. However, commuters reported even lower visibility in various parts of the national capital. Additionally, several other cities in northern India woke up to foggy weather conditions leading to reduced visibility. Patiala, Lucknow, and Prayagraj recorded visibility as low as 25 meters, while in Amritsar, it dropped to zero meters.
The city’s air quality, after weeks of relatively better air, notably deteriorated. The average air quality index plummeted to 381, falling into the “very poor” category.
Delhi experienced a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius, with the maximum temperature anticipated to reach 24 degrees Celsius.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 441 in Delhi’s Anand Vihar, 327 at Lodhi Road in central Delhi, and 368 at the IGI airport. Neighboring Ghaziabad and Noida recorded AQI levels of 336 and 363, respectively. The forecast indicates a further decline in air quality over the next week.
The weather office categorizes “very dense fog” when visibility ranges between 0 and 50 meters, “dense fog” between 51 and 200 meters, “moderate fog” between 201 and 500 meters, and “shallow fog” between 501 and 1,000 meters.
