Flight and train services delayed in Delhi due to dense fog

Guwahati: Dense fog and zero visibility in Delhi, especially at the Indira Gandhi International Airport has caused major hampers in the flight services. The ‘very poor’ air quality in Delhi has led to the delay and cancellation of several flights and trains in the capital city. As per reports, at least 13 trains to the national capital were running late due to the zero visibility level in the city.

At the Palam airport as well, the visibility level dropped to zero in early hours on Monday. The visibility in Delhi was around 150m due to the dense fog. Airlines flying to Bengaluru and Bhopal were running late than the scheduled time. Flight service providers like Jet Airways and Indigo too issued that many of their flights were hit by bad weather condition.

Jet Airways tweeted, “Due to adverse weather conditions (fog) at #Delhi, #Bengaluru and #Bhopal, some of our flights have been affected.”

As reported by the Delhi International Airport Limited, the flight operations in the airport were disrupted from 9 am to 10 am on Runway 29 on Monday. But Runway 28 continued flight departures. As time passed and the sun raised, operations returned to normal as the visibility improved.

The 13 trains that suffered from a delay in departure from the Delhi railway station include Kaifiyat Express, Poorva Express, Magadh Express, and Rewa-Anand Vihar Superfast Express. These trains had to be rescheduled after suffering from at least two hours delay. On the other hand, other trains to have suffered from more delay in departure include Gaya Anand Vihar Garib Rath Express, Brahmaputra Mail Express, Swatantra Senani Superfast Express and Purushottam Express. They suffered from a delay of three hours, five hours, three hours, four hours and four-and-a-half hours, respectively.

A senior official of India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, “The rain that hit Delhi (on Sunday) has pushed up the moisture levels in the air. Other conditions such the temperature and wind speed were also ideal for fog formation.”

The rain dropped the minimum temperature in the national capital to 7.1 degrees. The official also added that the western disturbance and the cloudy sky led to the gradual pushing up of the minimum temperature. The maximum temperature has also dropped over the past few days.

Along with the temperature dropping, the pollution levels too have dipped further. The air quality index (AQI) was at 407 on Saturday and dropped to 336 on Sunday. Monday morning showed a little improvement with the index coming down to 316.

Also read: Delhi’s Air Pollution Spikes, Severe in Some Regions