Bengaluru airport flights update: City hit by fog, air services disrupted

If you are planning an air trip to or from Bengaluru, the weather may play a spoilsport as the city has been hit by fog and cold weather with minimum temperature below 7 degrees Celsius. The menace of fog has affected at least 50 flights since early Friday causing delays, diversions to other airports and cancellation of services at the Kempegowda International Airport on the city`s outskirts, according to the airport`s website.

A statement from the airport said, "As many as 42 flights were delayed and eight flights were diverted due to fog," adding that operations for an hour from 7.05 a.m. to 8.13 a.m. were also suspended due to poor visibility.

"A minimum temperature of 6.3 degrees Celsius was recorded on Friday morning in Bengaluru, the lowest temperatures witnessed in the past few years," Director of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) GS Srinivasa Reddy told IANS in Bengaluru.

"The cold waves from the northern part of the country towards the south have brought down the temperature in the city and is likely to continue for another week," Reddy added.

According to KSNDMC, the city has recorded a maximum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours. 

Otherwise known for its salubrious climate round the year, the chilly weather has forced about 10 million residents here to pull out their jackets, sweaters and shawls.

While the minimum temperature was recorded as 6.3 degrees Celsius by KSNDMC, state-run India Meteorological Department`s (IMD) Bengaluru centre recorded a minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. The cold weather has also gripped the state`s northern districts including Bidar, Kalaburagi and Vijayapura.

On Friday, the minimum temperatures in the northern districts stood at about 6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius.

Following the low temperatures, the grape crop which is predominantly grown in the northern parts of Vijayapura has also been affected. Reddy was quoted as saying, "Grape crops, which are highly sensitive to low temperatures, have been hit due to the cold temperatures."