Delhi suffers worst fog of season; 0 visibility for 9hrs
What's the story
Dense fog blanketed Delhi over the weekend, causing major disruptions in flight and train operations.
The city experienced zero visibility for as long as nine hours at Palam and six hours at Safdarjung.
The weather phenomenon started late Friday night and continued till Saturday morning, severely impacting transportation across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Delhi's air quality also remained poor during this period, with a recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) of 378 on Saturday.
Flight disruptions
Over 400 flights delayed due to dense fog in Delhi
The Indira Gandhi International Airport struggled to operate for three days in a row due to the fog.
Over 400 flights were delayed, with an average delay of 34 minutes.
Nineteen flights, including two international ones, were diverted while 45 flights were canceled due to bad weather in Delhi and at destination airports.
Train delays
Dense fog strands thousands of train passengers
Train services were equally affected by the fog, leaving between 1.5 to 2 lakh passengers stranded or delayed.
Nearly 100 trains were disrupted, with 49 needing rescheduling for maintenance.
Important services such as the Vande Bharat Express and Shatabdi trains were delayed by over four hours.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed the dense fog to lack of winds, high moisture near the surface, and a stable surface boundary layer.
Twitter Post
Visuals from AIIMS and Safdarjung
#WATCH | Visibility affected as a thick blanket of fog descended over Delhi.
— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2025
Visuals from AIIMS and Safdarjung. pic.twitter.com/oaizGAnLTK
Weather forecast
IMD attributes fog to lack of winds, high moisture levels
The IMD has also issued a yellow alert for moderate to dense fog on Sunday and predicted light rain on Monday.
It predicted partly cloudy skies for Sunday with smog and moderate fog likely in most areas.
Dense fog was predicted in some areas during the morning hours.
The city's maximum temperature remained at 20 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was a tad above normal at 7.8 degrees Celsius.