Parts of North India continue to remain firmly in the grip of winter, with Delhi and the
National Capital Region areas experiencing intense chill over the night till late in the
morning. Poor visibility and inclement weather conditions with dense fog have led to
delay of trains and flights this season.
Safdargunj in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 8.9 degrees Celsius on
Saturday morning. Dense fog engulfed the city and adjoining areas of NCR affecting
traffic and commuters in the early hours of the day. The presence of dense fog in
specific areas of Delhi was reported by IMD.
Train And Flight Schedules Affected
Inclement weather conditions including the intense fog affected the movement of
several trains running to and from the national capital. "My train was delayed by more
than four hours. I hear a lot of trains were cancelled altogether due to the cold wave",
said a passenger travelling from Patna. As per reports, 22 trains travelling towards the
national capital were delayed on Friday due to fog conditions in the region.
Many flights were delayed in different parts of North India due to ongoing fog and cold
weather conditions. Owing to poor visibility in North Indian airports like Amritsar,
Jammu, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and Jaipur, departures, and arrivals from them were
affected in most domestic airlines.
Rehearsals for the Republic Day parade scheduled for January 26, however, were
conducted at Kartavya Path even as cold wave and fog continued in the national
capital.
Cold day to severe cold day conditions prevailed at many places over Haryana, few
places over Rajasthan and in some pockets over Punjab. Cold day conditions were
observed at a few places across Delhi and NCR, and isolated pockets over north
Madhya Pradesh, as reported by IMD.
The organisation has indicated dense to very dense fog with visibility dropping below
50 meters in certain areas of Punjab and Haryana over the next few days. There is
forecast of the continuation of the cold wave for the next two to three days in Delhi
and the National Capital Region. Very Dense fog conditions were observed in isolated
pockets over Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, and East Madhya Pradesh, with Dense
Fog observed in some pockets over Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu, and
West Madhya Pradesh. Isolated pockets over Punjab and Delhi experienced Dense
Fog, as given out by IMD in an official release.
Several cities and towns across North India will witness a cold day over Friday –
Saturday. “Cold day" as a meteorological classification is declared when the maximum
temperature is 4.5 degrees below normal, and the minimum temperature is below 10
degrees Celsius.
IMD Issues Public Health Advisory
The IMD earlier issued a public health advisory warning against lung-related health
impacts due to dense fog and cold waves. “Dense fog contains particulate matter and
other pollutants and due to exposure, it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and
decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing
and shortness of breath," it said. The organisation has issued a warning regarding
potential eye irritation, as exposure to higher levels of pollutants in the air may irritate
eye membranes and cause discomfort.
Bengali