A dense fog settled over the national capital on Friday, causing significant disruptions to train services. The blanket of fog, with temperatures dropping to 5.4 degrees Celsius, led to low visibility across various parts of the city.
Late Trains and Delays:
Railway officials reported that 39 passenger trains to Delhi were running behind schedule due to the prevailing dense fog conditions. Among them, three trains, namely Ajmer-Katra Pooja Express, Katihar-Amritsar Express, and Khajarao-Kurukshetra Express, were delayed by six hours.
The list extended to include six long-distance trains, such as Bhubneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express, Amritsar-Nanded Express, Azamgarh-Delhi Junction Kaifiyat Express, Kamakhya-Delhi Junction Brahmputra Mail, and Seoni-Ferozpur Express, facing delays of up to four hours.
Further, Jammutawi-Ajmer Pooja Express and Kamakhya-Delhi Junction Brahmputra Mail experienced delays of approximately five hours. Ten other trains, including Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express, Banglore-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas, Prayagraj-New Delhi Express, Chennai-New Delhi Express, and Manikpur-Nizamuddin Express, were running behind by up to two hours.
Trains with minor delays of 1-1.30 hours included Rajendranagar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Kanpur-New Delhi Shramshakti, Chennai-New Delhi Express, Hyderabad-New Delhi Express, and Maa Belhi Devi Dham Pratapgarh-Delhi Junction.
Air Travel Advisory:
Despite the challenges faced by train services, flight operations at Delhi Airport remained largely unaffected. However, the airport authorities issued a travel advisory, urging passengers to contact their respective airlines for the latest flight information before heading to the airport.
"Low Visibility Procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are presently normal. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information," the advisory stated.
Visibility Challenges:
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) highlighted the severity of the situation, indicating that visibility dropped to zero at Palam Airport and was recorded at 200 meters in dense fog conditions at Safdarjung Airport (VIDD).
The IMD categorized fog visibility as follows:
- 'Very dense' when visibility is between 0 and 50 meters.
- 'Dense' when visibility is between 51 and 200 meters.
- 'Moderate' when visibility is between 201 and 500 meters.
- 'Shallow' when visibility ranges from 501 to 1,000 meters.
Looking ahead, the IMD predicted cold day to severe cold day conditions in parts of Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Punjab, and isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh on the 10th. These conditions are expected to transition into Cold Day conditions in isolated pockets on the 11th, gradually abating thereafter. Travellers are advised to stay informed and plan accordingly.
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