Delhi reels under cold wave, dense fog hits flight, rail operations

Delhi people woke up to dense fog and chilling cold due to cold wave conditions.

Air, rail and road traffic was hit as a dense fog reduced visibility in Delhi for the sixth day in a row on January 9 as the city reels under intense cold conditions that have thrown normal life out of gear.

The severe cold wave that continued to sweep the national capital for the fifth straight day has seen the minimum temperature in the city drop lower than in most of parts of the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

On January 9, a dense layer of fog reduced visibility throughout Delhi and the surrounding areas, officials said. Fog and low temperatures continue to persist in Delhi and neighbouring states.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 1.9 degrees Celsius on January 8 amid a cold wave that affected part of north India.

The prolonged period of extreme cold has been attributed to a significant gap between two western disturbances, which allowed icy winds from the snow-covered mountains to blow in for a longer time than is normal.

According to an IMD official, visibility at Delhi's main meteorological stations, the Safdarjung observatory, and the Palam observatory, which is located close to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, dropped to 25 metres.

Also read | Winter vacation in Delhi's private schools extended till January 15 in the wake of cold wave

According to a railway spokesman, 29 trains were delayed by two to five hours due to the dense fog.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport asked flyers to contact their airlines for updates on flights.

"Due to dense fog, flight operations at Delhi Airport may get affected," it tweeted.

IMD has said that "dense to very dense fog conditions" will persist in many parts of Delhi and northern and eastern states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar till January 10.

It also warned that of lung-related health issues and that air, road, and train transportation could also be affected. In places with thick fog, electricity lines could trip, IMD warned.