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Chandigarh: Relief from dense fog likely after rain today
Following the anticipated light rain on January 9, the weather in the Chandigarh tricity is projected to stay dry; but the sky is forecasted to be partly cloudy, accompanied by periods of moderate to dense fog
A temporary relief from the persistent dense fog in the city is expected, with a fresh Western Disturbance likely to bring light rain on Tuesday, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
There is a weather system over northern Punjab and a Western Disturbance (WD) is also affecting the region, extending along certain coordinates, as per IMD.
Following the anticipated light rain on January 9, the weather in the tricity is projected to stay dry. But the sky is forecasted to be partly cloudy, accompanied by periods of moderate to dense fog.
An IMD official said, “While the rain might offer temporary relief for two to three days, moderate fog is expected to persist.”
On Monday, a day after recording the coldest day of the season, the city woke up to another morning shrouded in dense fog, maintaining a night temperature of 7.4°C, closely mirroring previous day’s 7.6°C and one degree above normal.
The weather department had issued an orange alert, cautioning residents about the persistence of very dense fog at isolated places and the continuation of cold day/severe cold day conditions at few locations.
Orange alert is the second highest of the four-level alerts issued by IMD. Under orange alert, residents are advised to stay alert and be prepared.
IMD officials reported that from the early hours on Monday until 8.30 am, visibility ranged between 150 and 170 metres. It improved to 700 metres by 11 am. The day before, it had dropped to 40 metres at 5.30 am, categorised as “very dense fog”. It had improved slightly to 90 metres at 8.30 am, still classified as “dense fog”.
With the sun making an appearance on Monday afternoon, the maximum temperature experienced an uptick, reaching 13.8°C from 11.4°C on Sunday, the season’s lowest. But it was still two degrees below normal.
Over the next three days, IMD anticipates that the maximum temperature will remain around 14°C and the minimum temperature will hover around 7°C.
Four flights cancelled, 23 delayed
Flight operations at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport continued to be disrupted for the fourth day in a row, with four flights getting cancelled and 23 more getting delayed due to dense fog.
Among the cancelled flights, two were arrival flights from Mumbai and Hyderabad, and two were to depart for Pune and Delhi.
Amid adverse weather conditions, 40 flights were cancelled between Friday and Sunday, while 39 more were delayed, spoiling weekend travel plans of thousands of flyers.
