People are suffering from winter cold as dense to extremely dense fog continues to envelop Delhi and several other northern Indian regions.

Following a dense fog covering the skies over Delhi, numerous trains and planes have been delayed because of poor visibility.

The weather would persist across the north Indian states in the next days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Parts of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh will continue to have dense to very dense fog till January 2, according to the weather service.

Most of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, numerous locations throughout Uttar Pradesh, a few locations throughout Uttarakhand, isolated locations throughout northern portions of Rajasthan, and dense fog at isolated locations throughout the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir and Lower division of Himachal Pradesh, as per the latest information from IMD.

The weather forasting department also noted in a notification that there are isolated areas of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh experiencing cold day conditions.

Additionally, the MeT department advised travellers to be cautious when operating a vehicle or taking any other form of transportation and to keep track of state, federal, and airline schedules.

Northern Railways reports that fog has caused 11 trains in Delhi to be delayed. Many flights are delayed by a few hours, which forces travellers to deal with inconvenience.

The delay for my flight is about three hours. We had an important event that we had to attend, but because of this delay, we will not be able to. Many passengers are having problems as a result of airline delays, a traveller stated.

Through a dense fog, a number of armed troops can be seen practicing for Republic Day in a video released by the news agency.

Due to poor visibility in the fog on Thursday, around 60 flights had to be diverted, and several more were delayed.

According to sources, the pilots were not trained to operate flights in low visibility situations, hence the majority of the flights had to be diverted.

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The temperature in India’s capital fell to approximately 7 degrees on Tuesday morning, accompanied by a thick layer of fog, as reported by the India Meteorological Department.

Images taken in the morning from Sarai Kale Khan, AIIMS, Safdarjung, Anand Vihar, and India Gate in Delhi revealed them to be completely covered in thick fog with little visibility.

On Tuesday night, as the cold wave grew stronger, residents of the nation’s capital sought safety in night shelters located across the city.

Data from the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System indicates that approximately 30 planes at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport are running late, both arriving and departing.

Satellite photos that showed a layer of fog spreading over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh were issued by the IMD this morning.

Images from Moradabad, Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, revealed a dense layer of fog that reduced vision to nearly nothing.

The fog makes it hard to see the road. In contrast to normal, there aren’t any rides yet. Due to the low visibility and very chilly weather, it is dangerous to ride at this hour, according to a Moradabad rickshaw driver.

The area’s night security guard claimed that the area’s cold and fog make working at night more challenging.

It’s freezing outside, and I can’t see anything right now due to fog. It’s incredibly hard for me to work at night because of this cold, the watchman remarked.

Along the roads and lanes, people could be seen gathering around bonfires to stay warm in the bitter weather.

According to the sources, there is a possibility that more flights during the day would be impacted by the fog conditions.

Meanwhile, the Delhi airport sent the following passenger caution this morning: Flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected while landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport. If passengers need up-to-date flight information, they should get in touch with the relevant airline.

The Delhi airport authorities introduced the CAT-III Instrument Landing technology (ILS) as an anti-fog landing technology to aid in landings under limited runway visibility.

The national capital’s thick fog could have negative effects on people’s health, the IMD added.

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Residents in the national capital awoke to a chilly morning with a thick layer of fog on Wednesday, after already being hit by a cold wave since the start of the new year.

Many trains and flights were running late on Wednesday much thanks to the fog that had engulfed many states of North India, barring the visibility.

Around 6:10 am, Safdarjung reported a minimum temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius. The visibility in Palam was 100 metres at 6:10 am, according to the Met department. Dense to very dense fog was seen across areas of Punjab, Northwest Rajasthan, Jammu division, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Tripura, as predicted.

The India Meteorological Department said that a dense/very dense fog layer (in the white patch) spans from Punjab to Bihar over Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, the national capital’s air quality deteriorated further, with the overall AQI breaking the’severe’ level at 421.

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26 trains running late: Northern Railway

On Wednesday, about 26 trains were running late due to thick fog that engulfed various states in North India, impairing vision.

According to Northern Railway officials, the Gorakhpur-Bathinda Gorakhdham Express, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Amritsar Express, the Pratapgarh-Delhi Padmavat Express, and the Dr Ambedkar Nagar-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Malwa Superfast Express were all running up to two hours late.

While the Barauni-New Delhi Clone Special, the Katihar-Amritsar Express, the Visakhapatnam-New Delhi Andhra Pradesh Express, and the Jabalpur-Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana Express were all three hours late.

Darbhanga-New Delhi Clone Special, Gaya-New Delhi MahabodhiExpress, and Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express were all four hours late, according to officials.

The Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express, the Azamgarh-Delhi Kaifiyaat Express, the Kamakhya-Delhi Brahmaputra Mail, and the Jaynagar-Amritsar Clone Special were all six hours late.

Darbhanga-New Delhi Bihar Samapark Kranti Express, Rewa -Anand Vihar Terminal Superfast Express, Prayagraj-New Delhi Express, Rajendra Nagar Terminal- New Delhi Sampoorna Kranti Express, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Ghazipur City-Anand Vihar Terminal Suhaildev Express, Rajgir-New Delhi Sharmjeevi Superfast Express, Hyderbad-Hazrat Nizamuddin Dakshin Express, MGR Chennai Central -New Delhi Grand Trunk Express, and Amritsar-Bilaspur Chhattisgarh Express are late by 1.15, 7, 2.45, 2.30, 10, 6.30, 1.45, 2.30, 3.30, 8.30 hours, respectively.

10 flights delayed

According to authorities, as many as ten aircraft scheduled to depart from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) were delayed due to strong fog on Wednesday.

According to airport sources, flight routes affected by the strong fog included Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Jaisalmer, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Jaipur, and Delhi-Guwahati.

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Entire North India including Delhi-NCR is shivering due to severe cold. Normal life has been thrown out of gear due to cold wave and fog. People have to resort to bonfires to avoid the cold. Along with the cold wave in Delhi-NCR, there was fog on Sunday morning. A thick layer of fog engulfed the national capital, reducing visibility. In view of the increasing cold, it has become difficult for people to get out of the houses.

Whereas, on Sunday, the winter broke the record of this season. The minimum temperature was 1.9°C at Safdarjung in Delhi, along with Aya Nagar recording a minimum temperature of 2.6°C and Lodhi Road shivered at 2.8°C and Palam at 5.2°C, according to Indian Meteorological Department.

Earlier in the year 2021, on January 1, the temperature was recorded at 1.1 degrees. While last year in 2022, the record for the coldest day of the season was on January 1 when the temperature was 4.2 degrees Celsius. Whereas in 2020, on January 1, the temperature was 2.4 degree Celsius.

Delhi-NCR colder than Shimla, Nainital and Manali

Delhi-NCR is getting colder than hilly areas. The temperature in these areas remained above four degrees, while the minimum temperature in NCR areas was recorded below 2 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was 7.8 in Shimla, 5.8 in Nainital, and 4.0 degree Celsius in Manali. While the minimum temperature was 2.5 in Gurugram, 3.4 in Faridabad, 3.7 in Noida and 4.1 degrees Celsius in Ghaziabad.

No respite from fog till next week

According to the Meteorological Department, a new Western Disturbance is knocking in North West India. It will affect the plains after three to four days. For this reason, there will be a return of biting cold once again. Right now the department has expressed the possibility of getting relief from the cold wave from Monday. For this reason, not only will the maximum temperature increase till January 13, but the minimum temperature will also reach up to 8 degrees. This will only be a temporary relief. There is no possibility of respite from the fog till next week.

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Mudda panellists feel that railway and flight delays due to fog should be dealt with more seriously and sensitively 

APN’s popular debate Mudda took up the issue of the fog in Delhi and other parts of north India that derailed trains and flights on January 1, 2018. Anchorperson Anant Tyagi posed the questions to panellists Dr Hilal Naqvi of the Congress, UP minister Surendra Khanna, Chandrabhushan Pandey of the BJP, Satish Kumar Wig, ex-member of the railways board, environmentalist Dr Rajesh Agnihotri, aviation expert Harshavardhan, and Govind Pant Raju, APN consultant.

Raju said that the government’s response has been poor so far in dealing with the issue of fog. To make his point, he gave the example of Lucknow airport where till a few years back, flight cancellations and diversions were routine. A special devise for fog visibility was budgeted for, but it wasn’t functional, since it was felt that to track surface movement, radars were also needed. Then another round of huge funds was spent, but flights still remain affected. He added that the situation is same in railways, and even after 15 years of research on the fog visibility device, Trinetra, the plans remain on paper only.

Khanna said that they try to do their best, but so far these efforts have fallen flat. Even in foreign countries, results are not fruitful in dealing with emergencies like fog.

Raju said that political will is needed to deal with these issues on a war footing. He mentioned that Khanna has accepted that there is a gap in what the governments should be doing and in people’s expectations. He added that it’s not an impossible task to deal with this annual menace.

Wig said that railway drivers need visibility to see signals. For this GPS based signal locators and radar systems etc are needed. He added that railways suffer huge revenue losses and productivity is affected, but fool-proof technology is still unavailable.

Naqvi said that there are three issues. One, in such situations, public relations is important, and customers should be informed well in advance if their trains or flights are going to be delayed. Officials should have the sensitivity to inform the people.

Second, he said, that waiting lounges should be comfortable for people who are left waiting. “No technology is needed for all of this,” he said. Third, he said, that responsibility needs to be fixed. “Think of passenger loss, not just of railway revenue loss. People in India travel not so much for leisure as for work. Passenger loss has to be thought of more clearly,” he said, adding that technology and technicians also are needed, and skills need to be developed.

Agnihotri said that research is not up to the mark, and good quality monitoring is absent. “Even if we know that four days from now there will be smog, what’s the solution? A broader perspective is needed,” he said. He gave the example of Los Angeles and London where proper pollution laws have dealt with the problem of smog in a big way. He said that in Delhi, too, recently, cracker ban did have a positive effect, but sustained efforts are needed to help in controlling pollution.

Pandey said that technology and innovation are very much on the mark, and R and D is going on. It will take some time for things to be properly set up, he said.

Harshvardhan said that nearly 60 percent of the problem has been handled very well. “When visibility is less than 450 feet, only then flights are cancelled. In Delhi, it’s not just fog, but also pollution, dust and particles that are responsible for the poor visibility,” he said.

Raju said that since the problem occurs only briefly in peak winter in the north, seriousness goes away after the weather is clearer.

Pandey said that it’s an environmental challenge and admitted that sensitisation of officials is needed.

Naqvi said that if the problem is only of a week or ten days, why can’t the government take care of passengers during this time?

Harshvardhan said that policies and laws are needed to mark out responsibility and rights on this issue.

Wig said that passenger discomfort is recognised, but beyond a point not fait to expect railways to do much since limitations arise due to the environment.

Naqvi said that the issue will be dealt with much better of passengers too are treated like customers, and they are informed and looked after properly.

Compiled by Niti Singh Bhandari

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Flight operations resumed after 10 am as flights started landing and take-offs resumed after 11:30 am.

Thick fog and low visibility hit the normalcy in flight operations  for several hours in Delhi yet again on the last day of the year. Visibility level fell below the minimum required affecting over 100 flights on Sunday.

Dense fog at the national capital caused fall of the visibility level below 50 meters – less than the minimum needed for flight operations – resulting in the delay in departure or diversion of domestic and international flights coming for Delhi.  Operations were put on hold between 8 am and 10 am on all the three runways of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

“Runway visibility since 5.30 am has been between 50-75 metres. This is so far the worst fog we have experienced this year,” said RK Jenamani, Director, IMD, Delhi area and IGI airport.

#flyAI #AirIndiaupdates Due to dense #fog at Delhi airport flight schedules have been affected & consequential delays are likely. Passengers are requested to check # our flight status before leaving for airport

— Air India (@airindiain) December 31, 2017

According to airport officials, flight operations resumed after 10 am as flights started landing again and take-offs resumed after 11:30 am.

“Dense fog at @Delhi_Airport today #CATIIIB Glad we could land @airindiain AI142 Before time,” tweeted Air India pilot Nivedita Bhasin at 10:41 am.

More than 40 flights were diverted and over 90 flights were affected at Delhi airport before flight operations got back to normalcy, the source said.

The weather department has confirmed that the temperature at New Delhi  was recorded at 6.4 degree Celsius on Sunday morning – a bit below the average temperature of the season.

The extreme weather condition has affected the Indian Railway services as well. At least 15 trains being cancelled, 57 delayed and 18 rescheduled due to fog in several parts of northern India. Furthermore, the traffic police had cautioned motorists to drive with extreme care on highways and especially Yamuna Expressway.

The National Capital Region (NCR)  has been witnessing heavy smog condition for the last two months – following Diwali festival – due to pollutants sourced from automobile emissions, road dust, industrial emissions and huge volume of smoke resulted due to crop-residue burning on vast swathes of land in neighboring Punjab and Haryana.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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