Intense cold wave & dense fog cause mayhem in Northern India; delay trains and flights

Dense fog engulfed most northern states hampering visibility and vehicle traffic. Amid a cold wave prevailing in parts of northern India, New Delhi’s Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9° Celsius, at 6.10 am on Wednesday, January 11. Visibility in the Palam area was recorded at 100 metres according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The weather department also forecasted thick to very heavy fog and cold wave conditions over parts of Northern India states such as Punjab, northwest Rajasthan, Jammu division, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Tripura. Owing to this, 26 trains are running late in the Northern Railway region.

List of a few long-distance trains that are running late 

Darbhang-New Delhi Clone Special is late for about four hours. Darbhanga-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express by 1.15 hours. Puri-New Delhi Purshottam Express by six hours. Hyderabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin Dakshin Express was delayed by 2.30 hours.

Here’s the list of trains which are delayed.

Flights that have been delayed due to adverse conditions

Several flights have been delayed due to low visibility, fog, and cold. The delayed flights are Delhi-Shimla, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Jaisalmer, Delhi-Bareilly, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Guwahati. Here are some visuals from the Delhi airport.

Furthermore, an IMD scientist stated that this is the third worst cold spell in the last 23 years. A second cold spell is expected to arrive on January 14 before the weather improves.

Pollution in the national capital

Owing to the deterioration of air quality, the Delhi government has decided to impose a temporary ban on the operation of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in the national capital beginning Tuesday, January 10. 

Image: ANI/Representative