Residents of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) are dealing with poor visibility as dense fog enveloped many areas on Saturday (January 16) morning. It is in the backdrop of a cold wave accompanied by extreme weather conditions across northern India.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a temperature of 9.8 degree Celsius in Palam at 5:30 am, which was likely to fall by 0.2 degree Celsius in 24 hours. The temperature at Safdarjung was recorded at 8.6 degree Celsius and it was likely to rise by 1.2 degree Celsius in the same period.
The Centre-run System of Air Quality & Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR) showed the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 492 in the 'severe' category in Delhi. It is to be noted that an AQI between zero and 50 is considered good and between 51 and 100 is deemed satisfactory. It is moderate at 101-200, poor at 201-300, very poor at 301-400, severe at 401-500.
Due to the prevailing fog, at least four flights to and from Delhi were delayed and one even got cancelled.
"Due to dense fog, only CAT III A and CATIII B compliant aircraft and pilots are able to operate," said an advisory of the Delhi airport after midnight.
Earlier, on Friday (January 15), Delhi recorded minimum and maximum temperature of 6.4 degree Celsius and 20.8 degrees Celsius respectively, which was a notch above normal as a result of cloudy weather, according to the IMD.
The IMD said that a moderate fog lowered visibility to 300 metres at Palam and 201 metres at Safdarjung while predicting dense fog in certain parts on January 16.
As per the IMD, visibility is between zero and 50 metres in case of very dense fog. It is between 51 and 200 metres in case of dense fog, between 201 and 500 metres at moderate, and between 501 and 1,000 metres during shallow fog.
