Dense fog engulfed the national Capital on Sunday, disrupting flight operations and leading to the cancellation of 50 Delhi-bound trains. The minimum temperature was recorded at 7.5 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, while the maximum settled at 16.3 degrees Celsius, five notches below the season's average, said a MeT department official.
Dense fog affected the visibility, which was recorded 100 metres at 5.30 am and 8.30 am. It was recorded at 500 metres at 11.30 am and at 800 metres at 2.30 pm.
According to Northern Railway officials, 50 Delhi-bound trains including the premiere Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express, were cancelled due to dense fog, while 20 were reported to be running behind schedule.
Operations at Delhi airport were also severely affected as the visibility dropped to zero, thus delaying several domestic flights. "It partially improved to 100 metres at 11.30 am and to 900 metres at 2.30 pm and remained the same at 5.30 pm," the official said.
"Three international flights, including two of Air India and one of SpiceJet, were diverted as the aircraft were not Cat-III B enabled," airport authorities said. CAT-III B allows the aircraft to land in visibility as low as 50 metres. Humidity levels oscillated between 69 and 100 per cent.
The MeT office has predicted partly cloudy skies for Monday. “The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover at 17 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively," the weatherman said.
On Saturday, the national capital had recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum settled at 22.2 degrees.