Dense fog envelops Delhi on Republic Day morning, but sunny day ahead: IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a sunny day ahead, with the maximum temperature hovering at around 20°C

Delhi’s minimum temperature was recorded at 4.7°C -- four degrees below normal on Friday in comparison to 4.8°C a day earlier.

The fog is forecast to become shallow after 10am, making way for a relatively clear view of the Republic Day parade. (ANI photo)

Dense fog was witnessed around the national Capital for over three hours, with the lowest visibility recorded at 100 metres.

The fog is forecast to become shallow after 10am, making way for a relatively clear view of the Republic Day parade.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a sunny day ahead too, with the maximum forecast to hover around 20°C. It was 20.5°C a day earlier.

“Moderate to dense fog is likely in the morning hours till 8:30am (visibility 100-400 metres). It is likely to improve to 500-800 metres with shallow fog from 10am and further improve to 800-1500 metres (mist/shallow fog) from 10:30am,” the IMD had said in its Republic Day forecast issued on Thursday evening.

The Republic Day parade is scheduled to start at 10:30am on January 26, running from Vijay Chowk to Kartavya Path.

The fog saw over 25 flights delayed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, while at least 34 trains were delayed by over an hour.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated again, but remained in the upper end of ‘very poor’.

The average air quality index (AQI) stood at 387 at 10am on Friday. It was 332 (very poor) at 4pm on Thursday.

Delhi had recorded its second ‘severe’ air day of the month on Wednesday, when the average AQI was recorded at 409 (severe) at 4pm.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR had held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to review Delhi’s air quality but has decided against invoking stage-3 measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), citing a possible improvement in air quality in the next 24 hours.

Forecasts show air quality is unlikely to touch ‘severe’ for the rest of the month now, possibly improving to ‘poor’ by Saturday.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category on Friday and further improve to ‘poor’ on January 27. The air quality is likely to be in ‘very poor’ again on January 28 and remain between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ for the subsequent six days,” said the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, an air quality forecasting model under the ministry of Earth Sciences.