New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) Dense fog in the capital Friday led to low visibility, adversely hampering road, rail and air services. Chilly winds blew across the city with the minimum temperature recorded at 6.6 degrees Celsius.
At 8.30 a.m., visibility was reduced to less than 100 metres and road traffic was forced to a crawl.
A railway official said 25 trains were cancelled and over 15 were delayed due to fog.
‘Over 15 trains were running behind schedule by several hours and 25 trains were cancelled. Dense fog across many parts of north India affected rail services,’ a Northern Railway spokesperson said.
The fog also disrupted operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, with many flights getting delayed and some cancelled due to the heavy fog.
Delhi International Airport Limited, the operator of the IGI Airport, said in a statement that six flights were cancelled due to the prevalence of fog in the national capital.
One flight was cancelled due to bad weather at the destination airport and 18 operations were curtailed because of technical or operational reasons with the airlines.
In terms of delays, passengers of 102 flights suffered due to fog at IGI airport. Six flights were delayed due to technical or operational reasons with the airlines.
‘IGI airport today (Friday) faced unprecedented fog from 0400 hrs to 1100 hrs. During this time, almost all flight operations were affected as the visibility of runway 29 and 28 were lower than the prescribed minimum for flying in Cat III B conditions (below 50 m),’ the statement said.
Early morning commuters also had a tough time steering through the fog on the capital’s roads.
Gurgaon was hit hard as some even found it difficult to leave their houses. ‘There was dense fog. I could not even leave my home as nothing was visible in the fog,’ said an office-goer living in DLF.
The maximum temperature was recorded at 21.1 degrees which was normal for this time of this season. The humidity wavered between a high and low of 100 and 57 percent.
According to met office, there will be thick fog Saturday morning and the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 22 and 7 degrees respectively.
