New Delhi:
A blanket of dense fog blanketed Delhi and surrounding areas on Wednesday morning as visibility dropped to just 50 metres, disrupting traffic movement.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast “dense to very dense fog conditions” over northwest and central India, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
In Delhi, the Palam Observatory near the Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded a visibility level of 125 metres, while at the Safdarjung Observatory it dropped to just 50 metres. On Tuesday, more than 30 flights were delayed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport as fog enveloped the Delhi-NCR region.
The minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 7 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature is expected to be 24 degrees Celsius.
Besides Delhi, several northern Indian cities woke up to foggy weather that reduced visibility. While Patiala, Lucknow and Prayagraj recorded a very low visibility of 25 metres, it dropped to 0 meters in Amritsar.
According to the weather bureau, very dense fog occurs when visibility is between 0 and 50 meters, dense between 51 and 200 meters, moderate between 201 and 500 meters and shallow between 501 and 1,000 meters.