Flights, trains disrupted as fog and toxic haze grip NCR

Over 550 flights were delayed, 118 cancelled and 16 diverted at IGI, while more than 50 trains ran late due to poor visibility.

Dense fog continued to severely disrupt air and rail travel across the National Capital Region on Tuesday, causing massive delays at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and affecting over 50 trains, even as air quality showed marginal improvement, but remaining firmly in the hazardous range.

This December is set to be Delhi’s most polluted since 2018, with six “severe” air quality days likely this month. (Arvind Kumar/HT)

Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) registered at 388 (“very poor”) at 4pm Tuesday, a marginal decline from Monday’s 401 (“severe”). However, the wider region fared worse. Ghaziabad recorded the country’s worst air with an AQI of 404 (“severe”), followed by Noida at 400 and Greater Noida at 366 (both “very poor”).

Forecasts indicate the reprieve is fleeting. The Air Quality Early Warning System predicts air quality will slip back into the “severe” category from December 31 to January 1, before marginally improving to “very poor” on January 2. The outlook for the subsequent six days suggests conditions will remain “very poor”.

This aligns with the trend of a heavily polluted December this year. With an average AQI of 349 up to December 29, this month is on track to be Delhi’s most polluted December since 2018, when the average was 360. If Wednesday records a “severe” AQI as forecast, it will mark the sixth such day this month and the ninth in 2024.

Meanwhile, the fog, which began forming late Monday evening, led to a red alert from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Visibility at Palam (IGI Airport) dropped to 100 meters by 10:30 PM Monday and remained in the “dense” to “very dense” category until 5:30 AM Tuesday, with the lowest reading at 50 meters. At Safdarjung, visibility fell to 50 meters around midnight and stayed there until about 8 AM.

The travel disruption was severe. Flight tracking data showed over 550 flights were delayed at Delhi airport on Tuesday, with officials confirming 118 cancellations and 16 diversions. This followed a similarly chaotic Monday, where more than 550 flights were delayed and 130 cancelled. Northern Railways reported over 50 train delays within the Delhi division due to low visibility.

Among the affected travellers was Hardik Mundra, whose elderly father’s flight from Surat to Delhi for a medical appointment was cancelled. “He was travelling for a doctor’s visit…but we later found the doctor is not available the next day,” Mundra posted on social media.

Polluted New Year on cards

IMD has issued a yellow alert for moderate to dense fog on New Year’s Eve. The prevailing conditions are influenced by a western disturbance, which brought snowfall to Ladakh and is likely to cause heavy rain and snow in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and surrounding areas until January 1.

Dense to very dense fog is expected to continue over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and West Uttar Pradesh until December 31, and over East Uttar Pradesh until January 1, before gradually reducing.

“We will see fog intensity gradually reducing in the coming days, but dense fog is still expected in the plains on December 31,” said Mahesh Palawat, Vice President at Skymet Weather. “From January 3 onwards, strong northwesterly winds are expected to affect the plains, leading to a sharp drop in temperatures.”

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 21.5°C on Tuesday (a degree above normal) and a minimum of 9.4°C (three degrees above normal). The minimum is likely to range between 7°C and 9°C on New Year’s Eve, with the maximum between 21°C and 23°C. The impending wind shift promises to clear the fog but will usher in a colder spell for the capital.