Fog in Delhi, parts of NCR; extreme cold likely to continue for next few days

Parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region woke up on Wednesday morning to dense fog, reducing visibility in several parts of the national capital. The minimum temperature recorded in Delhi on Wednesday was 9 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature is expected to be around 20 degrees Celsius, as per the IMD. According to IMD, Delhi is likely to see extreme cold in the next few days with minimum temperature touching 7 degrees Celsius on January 3.

According to the Met Department "Visibility Recorded (at 530 am today) (was less than 200 metres): Rajasthan: Bikaner, Jaipur & Ajmer-50 each; Jammu Division: Jammu-200; Haryana: Ambala-200; East Madhya Pradesh: Sagar-200. Current Visibility over Delhi: Sardarjung-500m and Palam-600m." Visuals from the Indira Gandhi International airport showed dense fog over the airport. Several flights to and from Delhi were delayed due to low visibility. At least 26 trains arrived late due to fog in the national capital, Indian Railways said.

Trains which arrived late in the national capital include Bhopal- Nizamuddin, Bangalore- Nizamuddin, Bhubaneshwar- New Delhi Rajdhani, Ranikamlapati Bhopal- New Delhi, Howrah- New Delhi Duronto, Chennai- New Delhi, Puri- New Delhi Purushottam Exp, Kanpur-New Delhi Shramshakti, Howrah- New Delhi Poorva Exp, Saharsa- New Delhi Vaishali Exp, Rewa- Anand Vihar Exp, Prayagraj-New Delhi Exp, Azamgarh- Delhi Kaifiyat Exp, Bhagalpur- Anand Vihar Exp, Rajendranagar-New Delhi, Banaras- New Delhi Exp, Ambedkarnagar- Katra Exp, Chennai- New Delhi GT, Chennai - New Delhi, Hyderabad- New Delhi, Ranikamlapati-Nizamuddin, Katihar-Amritsar Exp, Jammutawi- Ajmer Exp, Kamakhya-Delhi Exp, Ferozpur-sey and Ajmer-Katra Exp.The homeless in the national capital were seen taking refuge at night shelters.

Hailing the facilities provided by the Government, a resident of Bihar, staying at the winter shelter tent said "We get food free of cost, washrooms are there inside the tent. Staff is always there for the security."

"All facilities are here. Blankets, food, water tea, everything is provided here. 19 beds have been put up in which around 25 people are inducted," said Raju, a guard of the winter rescue tent. As the temperature dipped, people were seen sitting by the bonfire in a bid to keep themselves warm. Amid harsh weather and dense fog, forces were seen rehearsing for the Republic Day parade at Kartavya path in the national capital. According to today's weather warning by the Met Department to very dense fog and cold day to severe cold day conditions at a few places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Dense fog has been forecast today at a few places over Uttarakhand and at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir. People expressed their discomfort due to cold in areas surrounding Delhi, including Agra, Meerut and Mathura.

According to the IMD, due to the fog cover late Tuesday evening, visibility in the areas was reduced, with Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly recording the lowest at 25. Meanwhile, in the wake of multiple accidents due to prevalent fog, the Uttar Pradesh transport commissioner issued strict instructions and mentioned that children below 18 years of age will clearly be banned from driving. In case anyone below 18 years of age is seen driving, vehicle owner will be imprisoned for three years and fined Rs 25,000 as punishment.

According to the IMD, 'very dense' fog is declared when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, while it is 'dense' when the visibility is between 51 and 200 metres. Fog is considered 'moderate' when the visibility is between 201 and 500 metres 'moderate', and 'shallow' between 501 and 1,000 metres.