Dense fog disrupts flight, rail services

NEW DELHI: Twenty-seven trains were delayed and flight operations disrupted after thick fog engulfed the national capital on Monday morning. The minimum temperature settled at 8 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average. "Twenty-seven trains were delayed with an average delay of around three to four hours," the railways said. The trains delayed included the Malda-Delhi Farakka Express and Allahabad-New Delhi Duronto. The visibility at Safdarjung was recorded at 200 metres at 5.30 am that reduced to 100 metres at 8.30 am, a meteorological (Met) department official said. At Palam the visibility was 50 metres at 5.30 am and 8.30 am which led to disruption of flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport.

"Due to fog, some of flights have been put on hold at the departure points. This has led to a delay," a source at Delhi airport said. However, he added that "largely, there have been no diversions or cancellations of flights" as yet. The minimum runway visibility required for take off at Delhi is 125 metres. The Met office has forecast clear skies for the day ahead with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 21 degrees.

Meanwhile, as a thick blanket of fog engulfed the national capital, the overall air quality in Delhi continued to remain in the 'very poor' category on Monday. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) said that the air quality index (AQI) was 304 on Monday morning. The AQI was recorded in the 'very poor' category in Delhi University, Chandni Chowk, Pitampura and Noida; in the 'poor' range in Lodhi Road and Ayanagar area; in 'moderate' category in Gurugram.