Dense fog envelops Delhi-NCR, flights and train services disrupted

Visibility was reported to near zero around the Delhi's India Gate area.

A dense fog enveloped parts of Delhi-NCR on Friday morning, dipping visibility in several areas and causing disruptions to flights and train services.

Vehichles ply on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway amid low visibility due to fog on a cold winter day, in Gurugram on January 31. (ANI)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that a very dense layer of fog has shrouded over some parts of Delhi and isolated pockets of Haryana, Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

“Visibility recorded (at 0530 hours IST of today) (≤500 metres): Delhi: Palam-25, Safdarjung- 50; Haryana: Hissar-25; Rajasthan: Ganganagar-200, Jaipur-500; East Uttar Pradesh: Gorakhpur-200, Sultanpur, Varanasi-500 each; Bihar: Purnea-50, Gaya, Bhagalpur-500 each; Jharkhand,” the weather agency said.

Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed the capital city shrouded in dense, with visibility to near zero around the India Gate area early morning.

Flight operations were also adversely affected due to bad weather at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

On February 1, Delhi witnessed a minimum temperature of 12.3 degrees Celsius, with the maximum temperature reaching 18.6 degrees Celsius.

The IMD has forecasted ongoing light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms in various areas of Delhi-NCR. This comes after the city was hit by rainfall yesterday.

Delhi breathed its cleanest air in more than a hundred days on Thursday as two days of rain and strong winds helped wash out pollutants that have clotted the city’s atmosphere for several weeks.

The Capital recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 177 (moderate) at 4pm on Thursday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), more than 200 points lower than 392 (very poor) on Wednesday and the lowest since 121 on October 19 last year.

Forecasts show Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain “moderate” now for the next few days, with the likelihood of light rain over the weekend.

An AQI of 51 to 100 is classified as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor” and over 400 as “severe”.