New Delhi, Jan 21 (Inditop.com) The national capital Thursday witnessed the most dense fog since 2003 breaking a seven-year record, the India Meteorological Department said. Over 100 domestic and international flights and around 90 train services were affected.
“The fog since last (Wednesday) night has been the most dense and prevailed for the longest time period since 2003. The weather conditions today (Thursday) broke a seven-year record,” IMD Director B.P. Yadav told Inditop.
Heavy fog engulfed the city late Wednesday and blinded visibility till Thursday morning. The weather conditions wreaked havoc on air and railway traffic causing many delays and cancellations.
“Over 100 arrivals and departures have been affected. Low visibility procedures were enforced and are being used since last night,” an official of the Indira Gandhi International Airport said.
From zero visibility in early hours, the runway visibility improved towards noon and was recorded at 750 meters at 11.30 a.m.
The railway schedule was also badly hit.
According to a Northern Railways official, as of 10 a.m nearly 20 trains had been rescheduled, 40 trains were delayed by three hours or more and 30 services were cancelled.
On Delhi roads, the white blanket of fog hindered vehicular movement. Traffic pile ups were reported at south Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan and Dwarka; Mathura Road in east Delhi; Azadpur in the north and outer Ring Road. Public buses were running behind schedule and cars crawled with fog lights on. The Delhi Metro, however, reported no delays due to the fog.
“I was stuck in the chilling cold for one hour. The visibility was very bad and I wasn’t able to see even till 10 meters. I had to drive very slowly with caution. Two or three red lights were not functioning either and made things worse,” said Rajinder Kumar, a motorcyclist from east Delhi.
