110 flights cancelled, over 370 delayed at Delhi Airport as dense fog hits visibility

The visibility improved to 600 metres in shallow fog but fell back to 350 metres, with east-southeasterly winds blowing at a speed of 7 kilometres per hour

A total of 110 flights were cancelled and more than 370 services delayed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Sunday as low visibility caused by dense fog continued to disrupt flight operations.

An airport official said that 59 arriving flights and 51 departures were cancelled during the day. According to data from flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, over 370 flights were delayed, with the average departure delay standing at around 26 minutes. In a post on X later in the evening, Delhi airport operator DIAL said operations were running smoothly despite the weather-related challenges.

DIAL operates IGIA, the country’s busiest airport, which typically handles around 1,300 flights daily. Flight operations in Delhi and several other parts of north India have been affected for several consecutive days due to persistent fog conditions.

The air quality in the national capital remained poor, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded in the ‘very poor’ category at 377 on Sunday morning, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Data from the CPCB’s Sameer app showed that 16 of the city’s 40 air quality monitoring stations reported ‘severe’ air quality, while the remaining stations recorded ‘very poor’ levels.

As per CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.

Weather conditions also remained challenging through the night. At Palam, visibility dropped to as low as 300 metres due to moderate fog between 10 pm and 12.30 am IST, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Visibility later improved to 600 metres in shallow fog before declining again to 350 metres, with east-southeasterly winds blowing at a speed of 7 kilometres per hour.

At Safdarjung, visibility dipped further, reaching a low of 200 metres in moderate fog between 1.30 am and 2.30 am IST. It gradually improved to around 500 metres in shallow fog by 5.30 am, according to the IMD.

The minimum temperature in Delhi settled at 9.4 degrees Celsius, about 1.3 degrees above the seasonal average, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 18.1 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels touched 100 per cent at 5.30 pm, the weather department said.

The IMD has forecast moderate fog conditions to continue on Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 21 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively.