53 flights cancelled, 120 delayed as dense fog affects visibility in several parts of country

Delhi flights delayed: As many as 53 flights were cancelled and around 120 delayed as a thick layer of fog continued to impact visibility in several regions in the northern parts of the country. Early-morning foggy weather in the northern and northeastern parts of the country has heavily impacted road, rail and air traffic in the past fortnight, with several diversions, delays and cancellations.  

Delayed/cancelled flights 

The Delhi Airport reported delays in arrivals and departure of both domestic as well as international flights citing dense fog.  

Flight Operations at #DelhiAirport#Fog #FogUpdate pic.twitter.com/D4FoyO0X0V

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) January 16, 2024

The 53 cancelled flights comprised 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals due to fog and other operational reasons, the airport authorities said.  

Fog in northern states: Here is the latest update 

A layer of early-morning fog over the Indo-Gangetic plains in North India thinned in some parts on Wednesday, with satellite imagery showing a reduction in fog over Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, northern Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. However, dense fog continues to prevail over parts of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

At the Palam Observatory, near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi, visibility was limited to only 200 metres.  

IMD update for North India 

Dense to very dense fog conditions are likely to prevail over north India for the next five days, according to weather office IMD.   Cold-day to severe-cold-day conditions would persist over the northern plains for two more days, it said. The IMD declares a cold wave in the plains if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius or when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees or below and is four-and-a-half notches below the normal. A severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to 2 degrees Celsius or the departure from the normal is by more than 6.4 degrees. 

How cold is a ‘cold day’? 

A cold day is when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 10 degrees Celsius below normal and the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 degrees below normal.  

A severe cold day is when the maximum is 6.5 degrees Celsius or more below normal. 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Indian Railways said 20 trains arriving in Delhi were delayed by up to five hours due to foggy weather. At 5:30 am, visibility levels stood at 25 metres in Patiala, Ambala and Bareilly, 50 metres in Hisar, Churu and Bahraich and 200 metres in Lucknow and Purnea. Read more on 20 Northern Railway trains delayed. 

Read More: Thick fog in Delhi forces delays of 20 Northern Railway trains; running late by up to 6.30 hours