Intense cold and dense fog leading to zero-to-low visibility, paralysed normal life and disrupted rail and air traffic in Delhi on Sunday. While the mercury dipped to a record low of 2.6 degree Celsius, as many as 73 flights to and from the Delhi airport were delayed and nearly 70 trains were running late in the region. The inclement weather conditions even forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel his visit to Jharkhand on Sunday. With BJP chief Amit Shah, Modi was scheduled visit Jharkhand to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister-designate Raghuvar Das. “Was to travel to Jharkhand to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Shri Raghubar Das but am unable to do so due to weather conditions,” Modi tweeted. According to airport authorities, flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport were severely affected on Sunday. In fact, low visibility procedures were initiated around 8.50 pm on Saturday, when normal visibility dropped to below 500 metres. “Between 5 am and 10.45 am on Sunday, the visibility was below 50 metres. Flight operations to and from Delhi came to a complete standstill for more than five hours. While 73 flights were delayed due to the fog, 18 of them were diverted and six were cancelled,” an airport official said. The early morning dense fog also affected movement of about 70 trains, including 50 that were north-bound. Four trains had to be cancelled and six of them were re-scheduled, a Northern Railway spokesperson said. The entire Delhi-NCR region was covered under a similar intense fog layer and low temperature till 11 am on Sunday. The Safdurjung Met observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 18.3 degree Celsius and a minimum of 2.6 degrees. The Palam observatory recorded a maximum of 17.8 degrees and a minimum temperature of 3.5 degree Celsius. Humidity was 100 per cent. Delhi’s all time low of 1.1 degrees Celsius was recorded on December 26, 1945. The Met department has predicted similar fog conditions on Monday morning, which could weaken by Tuesday. “The severe fog spell is likely to continue till the night of December 28-29. However, the conditions are likely to start weakening from December 30 due to formation of a strong induced circulation — over the Northwest plains at a height of 1.5 km — and movement of a strong, high amplitude, westerly and mid-latitude north-south convergence zone at a height of 5.8 km,” Dr R K Jenamani, director-in-charge of IGI Met department, said. He said the upcoming dense fog conditions in North India would depend on its interaction with the approaching winds from the East on December 30, and “with a well-marked low pressure forming over the Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu coasts”.
