Dense fog blinds north India, over 250 flights impacted in Delhi, trains hit​on January 4, 2025 at 1:17 am

Dense fog blinds north India, over 250 flights impacted in Delhi, trains hit

​Dense fog blinds north India, over 250 flights impacted in Delhi, trains hit Dense fog blinds north India, over 250 flights impacted in Delhi, trains hit   

Hundreds of flights and several trains were delayed across North India as a dense blanket of fog engulfed multiple states, including Delhi, reducing visibility amid a continuing cold wave in the region. The flight operations were temporarily put on hold at the Delhi airport as the runway visibility on Saturday morning was zero. Over 250 flights were delayed, and around 40 were cancelled due to the prevailing conditions.

“Due to dense fog, flight operations have been affected at the airport. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information,” the airport authorities said.

Airlines, including IndiGo and Air India, issued advisories to travellers, stating that “poor visibility due to dense fog is impacting flight operations in Delhi and parts of Northern India”.

“With winter in full swing, many regions in Northern India are experiencing varying fog conditions. On some days, fog may be dense, while on others, lighter fog could still impact flight schedules,” IndiGo also said in an advisory.

At Kolkata Airport, 40 flight services were delayed and five have been cancelled, according to flight monitoring platform Flightradar. Similar conditions were reported at Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jaipur, and multiple other airports in North India.

The thick fog also disrupted train schedules and road traffic, causing widespread inconvenience. In cities including Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Karnal, Ghaziabad, Amritsar, Jaipur and many other locations, vehicles were moving at extremely low speeds due to the dip in visibility.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for Delhi on Saturday, warning of a “very dense fog” situation in the city.

Delhi recorded a 10.2 degrees Celsius temperature at 5.30 am on Saturday, which was 9.6 degrees Celsius on Friday.

Several states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajastan, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh among others, have also experienced dense fog conditions.

According to the weather department, similar conditions are expected to prevail in the coming days. The latest satellite image shows the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain covered in fog.

North India’s states saw a thick layer of fog on Friday as well. More than 400 flights were delayed due to bad weather conditions at the Delhi airport alone. Around 25 trains, including long-distance services, were running late in many states.

Meanwhile, air quality deteriorated to the ‘very poor’ category on Friday evening, with 10 out of 32 monitoring stations reporting AQI levels in the ‘severe’ range. In response, anti-pollution measures under the Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP) III were reinstated, including a ban on polluting vehicles and other restrictions.