Cold-wave grips Delhi-NCR, 30 flights delayed to due to dense fog

A layer of dense fog was witnessed over the Delhi-NCR region on Tuesday morning, as the temperature dropped to almost 7 degrees in the national capital, according to the India Meteorological Department. Morning visuals from Delhi's India Gate, Sarai Kale Khan, AIIMS, Safdarjung, and Anand Vihar areas showed them engulfed in dense fog with low visibility. Residents sought refuge in night shelters across various parts of the national capital as the cold wave intensified on the intervening night of Tuesday.

The IMD today morning released satellite images showing a layer of fog spreading over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Visuals from UP's Moradabad, Kanpur showed a thick layer of fog bringing down visibility to almost zero. "It is difficult to see the road due to the fog. There are no rides till now unlike usual. It is risky to ride at this time because of low visibility and it is colder than usual," a rickshaw driver from Moradabad said.

A night security guard in the area said that it is more difficult to work at night because of the cold and fog. "It is very cold and now because of fog, I cannot see anything. I work at night and with this cold, it is really difficult," the watchman said. People were seen huddled around bonfires along the roads and lanes to beat the bone-chilling cold in the region. Meanwhile, the Delhi airport experienced delays in both arrivals and departures for about 30 flights including international due to dense fog, as per the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System data on Tuesday morning.

The sources suggested that the fog conditions are likely to affect more number of flights in the day. Meanwhile, a passenger advisory issued by the Delhi airport today morning stated, "While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information." CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS) is technically the anti-fog landing system initiated by the airport authorities in Delhi to facilitate landing when the runway visibility is low.

The IMD also warned of possible health impacts on people due to the dense fog in the national capital. "Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath," IMD said in a release on Monday. The IMD release further stated that the fog conditions may tend to irritate the membranes of the eye causing various infections leading to redness or swelling of the eye.