A thick blanket of haze covered parts of Delhi and surrounding areas as the mercury fell to 6 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense fog over Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab till December 31. The weather bureau issued an advisory a day after a thick layer of haze covering much of northern India delayed more than 110 flights and 25 trains in Delhi.
At 5.30 am, visibility at Delhi's Safdarjung Observatory dropped to 50 metres, while Palam, near Delhi airport, reported a visibility of 25 metres. In Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and UP, visibility ranged from 50 to 25 metres.
“Dense to very dense fog (0-25 metres) in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and in isolated areas over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, south-west Rajasthan and north Madhya Pradesh,” the IMD said in a message on
The Met has forecast 'very dense fog' for the late night and morning hours into New Year's Eve across the northern states. While Delhi saw better visibility in some areas this morning, foggy weather continues to prevail in the NCR region.
“The fog is likely to become denser and likely to extend over more parts of Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan and some parts of far north Madhya Pradesh,” the IMD said in a message on and fog lights while driving. .
As the cold wave conditions continue, the minimum temperature remained at 6 degrees Celsius while the maximum is not expected to exceed 21 degrees Celsius.
Air quality remained “very poor” in the city for a second day. The average AQI in Delhi reached 386, with Anand Vihar recording an AQI of 464 in the “severe” category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the pollution level will remain sub-standard for the next two days as well.
On Wednesday, as roads remained shrouded in fog, several clashes were reported in Uttar Pradesh. One person was killed and 12 others injured after several vehicles collided on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. In Bareilly, a speeding truck rammed a house near the Bareilly-Sultanpur highway.
In another massive pile-up, several people were injured and 12 vehicles crashed on a Yamuna Expressway stretch near Greater Noida. The pile-up took place near Jewar on the Noida-Agra route. Images from the scene showed damaged vehicles, including trucks and cars, at the scene of the pile-up.