7 trains cancelled, 85 delayed due to fog; forecast for light rain in Capital today

Moderate to dense fog during the morning hours in the national Capital led to delay in services of 85 north-bound trains and minor delays in flight operations even as the MeT predicted light rains for Friday afternoon.

According to a MeT department official, the Safdarjung observatory recorded visibility at 300 metres at 5:30 am. Three hours later, it improved to 500 metres and significantly improved to 2,000 metres at 11.30 am. 

The Palam observatory, meanwhile, recorded visibility at 300 metres at 5:30 am. At 8:30 am which improved to 1,000 metres at 11.30 am, said a Met department official. 

According to a senior railway official, 85 trains are running late by several hours due to fog while 45 were rescheduled. Seven trains were cancelled, the official added.  

The cancelled trains were the Delhi-Malda Town Farakka Express, New Delhi-Puri Express, Firozpur Cantt-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Intercity Express, New Delhi-Rajendra Nagar Sampoorna Kranti Express, New Delhi-Manduadih Super Fast Express, Habibganj Shatabdi and Lucknow Swaran Shatabdi.

As the day passed, the skies cleared and the minimum temperature rose to 10.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. The maximum settled at 25.4 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season’s average, said the official.

The humidity level oscillated between 57 and 100 per cent.

The MeT office has predicted partly cloudy skies for Friday with the possibility of light rains towards afternoon.

“There will be moderate to dense fog in some areas. Skies will be partly cloudy and light rains may occur in afternoon.

“The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover at 24 and 11 degrees Celsius, respectively,” the weatherman said.

On Wednesday, the maximum and minimum temperatures hovered around 25.2 degrees Celsius and 8.9 degrees Celsius respectively.