In Delhi and its surrounding areas, a slight respite from the fog and smog is noticeable today, January 2. With rising wind speeds, Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stands at 302. However, one AQI station (Dwarka-423) recorded a severe category. Anand Vihar, which had an AQI of 450+ on December 31, now shows 348. Additionally, fog-like conditions appeared in several neighboring regions, aside from just Delhi.
Despite IMD's forecast of an orange alert, dense fog's impact hasn't significantly manifested in Delhi. The visibility at IGI Airport remains normal at 1000 meters. Nevertheless, anticipating fog, several airlines issued advisories on Thursday night. According to these advisories, some flights may face cancellations.
Delhi has been experiencing harsh cold for the past few days, with IMD predicting a further drop in mercury. For today, the meteorological department has issued an orange alert for fog. The Indian Meteorological Department released an orange alert for Delhi today.
Airlines Issue Advisory...
On Thursday night, Indigo posted on social media, "The dense fog is predicted to affect visibility in Delhi in the early hours. To minimize wait time at the airport, some flights scheduled for tomorrow have already been canceled. We understand the disruption this may cause to your plans and appreciate your patience. Our teams are closely monitoring the situation and are available to assist customers at all touchpoints.
Furthermore, Indigo reported, "Dense fog blankets cities like Varanasi, Udaipur, Jammu, Visakhapatnam, and Jaisalmer, slowing down flight operations. Weather-related delays may occur on flights to and from these locations, as well as on some routes across our network.
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Air India also released a travel advisory on Thursday, stating that flight schedules might be affected due to dense fog and low visibility over Delhi and parts of North India on Friday morning, impacting the entire network.
Numerous trains encountered movement disruptions across the country due to dense fog and poor visibility. Indian Railways issued a statement, "31 trains are running over two hours late. Travelers are advised to check the current train status before heading to the station."
Read More: Tomorrow's Minimum Temperature in Delhi-NCR? Check Your City's Forecast Here
Cold to Maintain Its Grip in Delhi-NCR
According to IMD's forecast, minimum temperatures on Friday are expected to hover around 8-10 degrees Celsius, while the maximum might reach 16-18 degrees. Regions like Gurugram and Noida are expected to experience similar weather conditions.
On Wednesday, Delhi recorded the lowest daytime temperature since 2019. IMD reported a maximum temperature of 14.2 degrees Celsius, which is 6.2 degrees below the norm, with the minimum at 6.4 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees below normal.
IMD data indicates that a lower daytime temperature for the month was last recorded on December 31, 2019, at 9.4 degrees Celsius. The weather department expects further dips in temperatures in Delhi-NCR. On Friday, Delhi's air quality further declined, as the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) SAMEER app noted an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 311, putting it in the 'Very Poor' category.
