Flight operations at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport were disrupted on Wednesday morning due to low visibility caused by dense fog. No flights landed or took off at the airport for two hours – between 4.18 am and 6.16 am. Three domestic and one international flights were diverted, while 18 domestic and two international flights faced departure delays. The airport declared Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) from 4.38 am onwards. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) declares LVP when visibility at an airport falls below 800 metres. Governor C V Ananda Bose’s visit to Farakka in the Murshidabad district on a Border Security Force (BSF) helicopter was also cancelled due to poor visibility. Meanwhile, a dense fog warning has been issued for five districts in northern Bengal, including Darjeeling, as well as some districts in southern Bengal. The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore has predicted a temperature drop across southern Bengal, including Kolkata. The minimum temperature in Kolkata dropped to 16 degrees Celsius, and it is expected to fall further in the coming days. The northern regions of the state are already seeing a dip in temperature. In Darjeeling, the temperature dropped to 4.2 degrees Celsius. Kalimpong recorded a temperature of 9.5 degrees Celsius, Alipurduar 10 degrees Celsius, and Raiganj registered 11.2 degrees Celsius, all indicating a significant decline in temperatures. “The dissipation of western cyclonic disturbances has created favourable conditions for winter in West Bengal. The cold air is now unobstructed, allowing it to move freely into the region,” a Met official said. Western cyclonic disturbances are low-pressure systems that originate from the Mediterranean Sea region and migrate towards the Indian subcontinent under the influence of westerly jet streams. Due to the favourable weather conditions, experts predict a long winter for southern Bengal this year.
