Trains, flights continue to run late due to fog

With the minimum temperature recorded at 11.2 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average, it was a foggy Saturday morning. At least 101 trains were delayed and 11 canceled due to dense fog in parts of North India while dozens of flights were either delayed or rescheduled.

According to a MeT department official, visibility was recorded at 400 metre at 8.30 am at Safdarjung which improved to 1,000 metre at 11.30 am and further to 1,200 metre at 2.30 pm. At Palam, it was recorded at 250 metre at 8.30 and 800 metre at 11.30 am, the weatherman said. The maximum temperature settled at 21.6 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal, while the minimum temperature was pegged at 11.2 degrees, two notches above the season’s average.

As many as 101 trains were running late by several hours while 17 were cancelled due to fog, said a senior railway official. “17 trains including Poorva Express, Jabalpur Express, Kalka Express, Vaishali Express and Patna Rajdhani among others were cancelled due to fog. Also, 18 trains have been rescheduled,” the official said.

The humidity was recorded at 95 per cent. The weatherman has predicted mainly clear skies for Sunday with the maximum and minimum temperature expected to settle at 27 and 12 degrees Celsius with dense to very dense fog. On Friday, the maximum temperature settled at 26.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, while the minimum temperature was pegged at 7.7 degrees, a notch below the season’s average.

Airport officials described visibility as “manageable” and said there was no major impact on flight operations due to weather conditions. However, according to early reports, at the IGI Airport too, arrival and departure of several flights were delayed. “While six International flights were delayed, 13 domestic flights were rescheduled,” reports suggested.