Season’s first dense fog hits rail, road traffic in Delhi

PTI, Dec 19, 2022, 10:34 AM IST

The season’s first dense fog blanketed Delhi on Monday morning, lowering visibility to 150 metres and affecting road and rail traffic movement.

Around 20 trains have been delayed by 15 minute to 2 hours, an official said.

“Fog affecting train movement today. We have taken precautionary measures. Speed restrictions are put in place in such conditions. Safety is our priority. Passengers are informed about schedules through announcements and other means,” a northern railway spokesperson said.

However, an airport official said flight operations were not affected as Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) were in place for around four hours starting at midnight.

Satellite images showed a thick layer of fog extending from Punjab to east Uttar Pradesh across Haryana and Delhi, the India Meteorological Department said.

Visibility dropped to 150-200 metres at the Palam Airport between 3:30 am and 6 am and improved to 350 metres by 7 am, an IMD official said. The Met office reported visibility levels of 25 to 50 metres in Amritsar, Patiala, Bareilly, Lucknow and Bahraich early morning.

The IMD has predicted dense to very dense fog over the plains in northwest India during the next five days.

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

The Safdarjung Observatory, the primary weather station of the capital, recorded a minimum temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 24 degrees Celsius.