Fog returns to Delhi, derails train services

NEW DELHI: As the cold wave continues to intensify across Northern India, train services on Wednesday have been hampered due to fog, thus disrupting the normal routine. As per the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Northern Railway, 21 trains have been delayed, 13 cancelled and four rescheduled. The Meteorological Department has predicted a maximum temperature of 25 degree Celsius with lows of 8 degrees. Furthermore, dense fog is expected in the national capital for coming days.

The national capital and regions around it saw the best air-quality of this year on Tuesday. Still rated 'poor', considered an improvement from 'very poor', the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Tuesday was 256 for Delhi against 330 or very poor on Monday. The AQI was 224 for Faridabad (Monday 313), 114 for Gurugram, considered moderate (241 on Monday), 329 in Ghaziabad (390 on Monday) and 214 in Noida (315 on Monday). The AQI is measured on the scale of 0 to 500, with values above 300 considered very poor. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the wind speed of Delhi on Tuesday was 15 kmph and the humidity further dipped –oscillating between 41 and 73 per cent, leading to a rise in temperature and better dispersal of pollutants.

At 7:00 pm, the major pollutant PM2.5 (particles with the diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) was recorded 132 units in Delhi and 122 units across National Capital Region (NCR) –both considered very poor. However, none of the 24 monitored regions across NCR fell into either 'severe' or 'severe-plus' category for the first time in the month.