Low visibility amid dense fog in Gurugram as mercury rises to 5.3°C

Schools will reopen as usual on Monday, January 19, 2026, said the Directorate of School Education (DSE) order directing the district education officer and principal of all schools in the district to ensure compliance.

The Haryana government on Thursday extended the winter vacations of all government and private schools in the state till January 17 amid the ongoing cold snap with heavy fog causing visibility to drop as low as 100 metres.

A dense fog enveloped the city (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Schools will reopen as usual on Monday, January 19, 2026, said the Directorate of School Education (DSE) order directing the district education officer and principal of all schools in the district to ensure compliance.

It further said students of classes 10 and 12 may be called for their pending practical exams during the extended vacations.

Gurugram recorded a minimum temperature of 5.3°C, nearly 2°C below normal, and a maximum temperature of 18.2°C, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

A dense fog enveloped the city with visibility dropping as low as 100 m on Sohna Elevated Road at 8.30 am.

According to district officials, low visibility reported at many of the major stretches, including Golf Course Road, around Cyber City, and the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway, and led to massive snarls on on the Delhi-Gurugram-Jaipur (NH 48) and the Dwarka Expressway during the early hours.

“Dense fog is expected to continue in the region by the end of this week. However, temperatures are likely to improve by 2 to 3°C within the next two days and thereafter remain stable for a while during this winter season,” a senior IMD official said.

The IMD classifies fog as “shallow” when visibility is between 500 and 1,000 m, as “moderate” between 200-500 m, “dense” between 50 and 200 m, and “very dense” below 50 m.

In latest weekly weather forecast, it said Gurugram would see “dense to very dense” fog levels in isolated places until Saturday. Its weather forecast till January 22 said minimum temperatures are likely to remain between 4 and 6°C, while, the maximum temperature will likely remain between 22 and 24°C.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s daily AQI bulletin on Thursday put Gurugram’s air quality in the “very poor” category. The average AQI at 4 pm was recorded at 318. The city’s four monitoring stations at NISE Gwal Pahari, Sector 51, Teri Gram and Vikas Sadan recorded AQI at 342, 302, 328, and 315, respectively.