NEW DELHI: A cold wave and dense fog engulfed Delhi on Christmas morning, causing a sharp drop in temperatures and poor visibility across the city.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded a minimum temperature of 8.4 degrees Celsius, while visuals from Kartavya Path, Janpath, Dwarka, and India Gate showed no visibility due to the dense fog.
The minimum temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius below the season’s average, while the national capital recorded a maximum temperature of 22.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.
Visibility in the city was recorded at 100 meters due to dense fog at 5:30 am. The visibility prompted the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to issue an advisory over the possible impact on flights. At least 20 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country were running late due to foggy conditions on Wednesday.
The trains to Delhi running late included Goa Express, Poorva Express, Kalindi Express, Rewa - Anand Vihar Terminal SF Express and others.
The Delhi airport said in its advisory that flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected, requesting passengers to contact the airline for updated flight information. IndiGo airline also asked passengers to check the flight status before heading to the Delhi airport.
CAT III compliant flights are those aircraft that have a Category III (CAT III) system, which enables them to land safely even during poor visibility conditions, such as dense fog.
Meanwhile, the AQI in the city was recorded at 336, falling under the ‘very poor’ category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board at 4 pm. The AQI measured in other areas also remained in the ‘very poor’ category.
AQI in Anand Vihar was 360, 372 at Ashok Vihar, 362 at Bayana, and 324 at the CRRI Mathura Road. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe. Deepak Pandey, another local, said both the winter and pollution had become harsh in the city.
On Tuesday, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of seven degrees Celsius amid rain hitting parts of the city for the second straight day.
The weather department said the national capital will have partly cloudy skies on Thursday and could see light rain in the evening.
AQI in ‘very poor’ category
The AQI in the city was recorded at 336, falling under the ‘very poor’ category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board at 4 pm. The AQI measured in other areas also remained in the ‘very poor’ category. AQI in Anand Vihar was 360, 372 at Ashok Vihar, 362 at Bayana, and 324 at the CRRI Mathura Road. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe. Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast that dense fog conditions are likely to prevail in the late night and early morning hours.