Shallow fog in Delhi, several trains delayed, flights diverted

NEW DELHI:  Since the maximum temperature of the city settled at 16.1 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal for this time of the year, the national capital on Tuesday witnessed poor visibility and shallow fog. The minimum temperature in the city settled at 8.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal for this time of the year, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

 The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, recorded 85 per cent humidity in the weather at 8:30 am and 69 per cent at 5:30 pm. According to the data released by the weather station, the observatories at Ridge, Ayanagar, Najafgarh, Pitampura, Palam, and Lodhi Road recorded the maximum temperature of 15.4 degrees Celsius, 15.9 degrees Celsius, 15.3 degrees Celsius, 16.5 degrees Celsius, 15 degrees Celsius and 15.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. A Railways spokesperson said that more than 21 trains on their way to the national capital were delayed by one-and-a-half to five hours due to fog. An official at the international airport said that five flights were diverted to Jaipur on Monday night due to bad weather in Delhi.

In a statement, the Meteorological Department said that dense to very dense fog and cold day conditions were very likely to continue over northwest India during the next four to five days. “Coldwave conditions are likely to continue in northwest India during the next three days and the intensity will decrease thereafter,” the weather station stated. The weathermen predicted that the city will witness dense fog on January 4 and 5, as the maximum temperature will dip to 18 to 17 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature will settle at 6 degree Celsius.