New Delhi: A thick blanket of fog enveloped the national capital on Saturday that led to a drop in visibility levels, delaying at least 23 flights and 18 trains and slowing down vehicular movement, causing inconvenience to commuters.
The fog wreaked havoc at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport as runway visibility hovered around 75 metres early Saturday and low visibility procedures had to be implemented.
According to an airport official, at least 12 domestic flights and 11 international flights were delayed by over three hours. The visibility later improved, the official added.
Runway visibility should be at least 150 metres for a plane to take off.
Similarly, rail services were disrupted because of the fog.
"At least two trains were rescheduled and 18 were unning late by three hours or more because of the fog. In addition, 25 trains have been cancelled because of the weather conditions," a Northern Railways spokesperson told a news service.
"Moreover, the collision between two trains near Agra this morning has blocked a portion of that route. Therefore, it may also have repercussions on the schedule of other trains," the official added.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the visibility was 200 metres at 7 am.
"The visibility at 7 am was 200 metres. The fog will remain till noon and after that there will be partly cloudy skies," an IMD official said.
The low visibility also affected vehicular movement on roads.
Rahul Jain, a bank employee who drives to work from Karol Bagh to Saket, said: "The fog and low visibility slowed down the traffic considerably this morning. Instead of the usual half an hour that I take to reach work, I took nearly one hour today."
The minimum temperature recorded early Saturday was 6.6 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The maximum is expected to hover around 17.5 degrees Celsius.
IANS
