Cold Wave: Delhi Shivers Under Dense Fog, Traffic, Flights Disrupted

New Delhi: Delhi experienced a foggy and freezing Sunday morning, affecting the movement of traffic and flights in the city. The mercury dipped to 7 degrees Celsius in RK Puram Area in the wee hours of the day. Many people, especially the homeless, sought shelter in the night camps run by the government, where they were provided with blankets, beds, hot water, and food. The night camps are meant to help the homeless survive the harsh winter conditions.

The city had witnessed its first cold wave day of the season on Friday, as per the India Meterological Department (IMD). A cold wave day is declared when the minimum temperature drops below 4 degrees Celsius. The IMD also issued a warning for the travellers amid the severe cold and fog.

It tweeted from its X handle, “Very dense fog layer extends over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, North Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Passengers on highways need to drive extremely carefully and only with fog lights.” It further advised, “Journeys need to be halted until fog reduction by morning especially on expressways. Very Dense fog reporting over Amritsar, Chandigarh, Patiala, Ambala, Ganganagar, Palam, Safdarjung, Lucknow with visibility 0 meter since 0230 hrs IST of today.”

The IMD said that the fog situation is likely to continue in some parts of northwest India for the next three to four days, especially in the morning hours. The Delhi Police also appealed to the motorists to drive safely in the low visibility conditions.

It posted from its official X handle, “The Meteorological Department, Delhi, has forecast dense to very dense fog on January 14, 2024, and dense fog on January 15 & 16, 2024. We appeal to all to drive carefully in the fog.” The thick fog also affected the flight operations in the city, causing delays in several flights. Officials said that Vistara’s Delhi-to-Pune flight was delayed by more than an hour due to the fog.