NEW DELHI: Tog up in your woollens, slow down and switch on the fog lamps of your car. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for dense fog in Punjab, Delhi and Haryana.
An orange alert has been issued in these states for December 30. A red alert — the highest level of warning — is issued when fog reduces visibility to below 50 metres. Weather experts have cautioned that barring an emergency, drivers should avoid going out between 4 and 10 am.
Ironically, the IMD says temperatures across north India are still above normal, keeping winter warmer. Moreover, there is no cold wave expected in the next week, it added. In its first outlook for the cold wave, the IMD said there would be no significant cold wave likely over any parts of the country till January 4, next year.
The maximum temperature in Delhi on Friday was recorded at 21.4 deg C while the minimum was 8.4 deg C. The India MetSky weather on Friday posted on X: “A dense (upper level) and surface fog covered the whole of Delhi and NCR on December 29. Many of the stations recorded their minimum temperature before the fog onset while some in the outskirts did after fog onset.”The IMD said cold wave conditions are very likely in some parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and western UP.
The Central Pollution Control Board said Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality on Thursday settled at 358 (‘very poor’) An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
Reduced visibility also hit railway services, with 22 Delhi-bound trains delayed. Flight operations too continued to be impacted at the Delhi airport for the third day, with nearly 58 flights getting diverted and scores getting delayed.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the ministry is coordinating with airports and airlines, and putting in place measures to deal with the issue. The fog issue is a “transitory phenomenon”, the minister told agencies, adding the situation has been slightly unprecedented in terms of the density of fog this year.
Under the influence of a feeble western disturbance, an isolated rainfall or snowfall is likely over J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from December 29. Lower easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal will bring isolated rainfall over UP, MP and Chhattisgarh.
