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Fog nightmare in Chandigarh: 13 flights grounded, 26 delayed
Connectivity to Pune, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai hit amid poor visibility, derailing plans of thousands of flyers
Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport experienced major disruptions in its operations for the second consecutive day, with 13 flights getting cancelled and 26 more getting delayed due to dense fog and low visibility.
Earlier on Friday, 14 flights were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
The challenging weather conditions posed operational challenges, impacting scheduled departures and upsetting travellers’ plans.
Four IndiGo flights, including 6E681 to Pune, 6E2193 to Delhi, 6E7413 to Jaipur and 6E6395 to Ahmedabad, were cancelled.
The cancellation list expanded to include more IndiGo flights, including 6E2177 to Delhi, 6E5261 to Mumbai and 6E-071 to Chennai, apart from Vistara’s UK 669 to Delhi.
Additionally, arriving flights, starting with the first from Pune (6E242), 6E7414 from Jaipur, 6E2194 from Delhi, 6E6506 from Ahmedabad and 6E5233 from Mumbai also faced cancellation, attributed to extremely poor visibility.
In addition to the cancellations, 15 departure flights faced delays, while 11 arrival flights were also held up until 10 pm, as reported by airport authorities.
Brace for more fog
The city is unlikely to get respite from fog for the next two days, as per the forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
At 16.2°C, the maximum temperature recorded on Saturday increased from Friday’s 14.3°C, but was still two degrees below normal. On the other hand, the minimum temperature dipped slightly from 6.7°C to 6.5°C, normal for this time of the year.
According to IMD officials, chances of dense fog will continue for the next two to three days.
An orange alert for dense fog was in place for both January 6 and January 7. Following this, a yellow alert for dense fog is anticipated for the subsequent three days.
A fresh Western Disturbance on January 8 could bring light rain on January 9. But no significant temperature changes are anticipated.
Following cloudy weather and light drizzle, there might be a brief respite from dense fog, but moderate fog is expected thereafter.
Amid the cloudy weather, an official from IMD mentioned that the day temperature would most likely stay low, while the night temperature will remain normal.
IMD officials explained that when the skies are clear, the heat emitted from the earth’s surface freely escapes the atmosphere, resulting in colder temperatures. On the other hand, a protective cloud blanket, traps the heat, leading to warmer nights.
Over the next two days, the sky is forecasted to stay predominantly cloudy with dense to very dense fog during morning and night hours.
During the subsequent three days, the maximum temperature is projected to range between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature is expected to hover between 7 and 9 degrees Celsius.
