Ground-fog days: It’s flashing red for flights, high beams on for motorists

The meteorological office issued a fog warning, saying shallow to moderate fog/mist is likely during mornings in isolated areas across the state.
Dense fog impacting visibility for commuters on the Thoraipakkam radial road near Pallavaram on Tuesday morning
Dense fog impacting visibility for commuters on the Thoraipakkam radial road near Pallavaram on Tuesday morning Photo | Ashwin Prasath
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CHENNAI/VILLUPURAM : Chennai city and its surrounding regions experienced dense fog on Tuesday morning, brought on by high moisture levels, lack of wind and low nighttime temperature. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecast similar weather conditions for two more days.

P Senthamarai Kannan, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre at the RMC, said the city has been experiencing misty mornings for the last few days. “The moisture level was around 90% and the minimum temperature was 21.8 oC. This, coupled with still weather conditions, has resulted in the formation of thick fog. Besides, there was no cloud cover. These factors are resulting in cold nights and hot days,” the official said.

The poor visibility caused by the fog resulted in the diversion of 12 flights bound for Chennai — both domestic and international — and the delay of over 10 flights. The diverted flights include British Airways international flight from London (BA035), an Oman Air flight from Muscat (WY0251), and an Air Asia flight (AK0011) from Kuala Lumpur — all diverted to Bengaluru.

Two Indigo flights — one from Hyderabad (6E0531) and another from Kolkata (6E0344) — were diverted to Tirupati. Akasa Air flights from Mumbai (QP1304) and from Bengaluru (AI2561) were diverted to Bengaluru. The other diverted Indigo flights bound for Chennai include flight no. 6E1032 from Kuala Lumpur, 6E1002 from Singapore, 6E339 from Coimbatore, 6E1412 from Abu Dhabi, and 6E159 from Pune. Airport sources said high atmospheric moisture content and variable wind pattern caused the radiation-type foggy weather conditions over the Chennai region throughout Monday night.

The poor visibility disrupted traffic, especially on the Chennai-Tiruchy NH in Villupuram, resulting in slow vehicular movement. Motorists kept headlights turned on even past 8 am to navigate through the fog. No major accident was reported, though travellers experienced delays, especially on stretches with heavy vehicle movement.

The meteorological office issued a fog warning, saying shallow to moderate fog/mist is likely during mornings in isolated areas across the state. The maximum temperature is likely to be 2-3 oC above normal for the next three days. Authorities urged early-morning commuters to plan their travel accordingly.

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