Clear Sunday in Delhi, morning fog affects trains, flights

Thick fog Sunday morning brought down visibility to less that 200 metres in the capital, delaying 91 train services and 60 flights. The city later witnessed a warm and clear day, as the maximum temperature was recorded at 21.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average. The Met department has forecast a similar Monday.

"Monday morning is also going to be foggy. The maximum and the minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 21 degrees and 6 degrees Celsius, respectively," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Thick fog accompanied by cold winds Sunday morning badly affected commuters.

A large number of passengers were stranded at railway stations and the Indira Gandhi International airport, while motorists had a tough time on roads.

According to the Northern Railway, 63 trains were late while 28 were rescheduled and three were cancelled due to the dense fog in and around the capital.

"Among some of the special trains that got delayed were the Duranto Express, the Shatabdi Express and the Guwahati Rajdhani," an official with the Northern Railway told IANS.

Rahul Bishnoi, who was waiting for the Avadh Assam Express, told IANS: "My train's timing was 5 p.m on Saturday. I have been told that the train is going to take 12 more hours to arrive as it is stuck somewhere in Uttar Pradesh due to fog."

Mohinuddin Ahmad, another passenger waiting for the Duranto Express, blamed the Indian Railways for not taking any initiatives to deal with the problem.

The IGI airport, in a statement, said poor visibility caused delay in 60 services and cancellation of three flights.

"Flight operations get affected as it becomes difficult for the pilots to fly. All passengers were informed about the delay and asked to cooperate as they were assured that the flights will start operating according to time once visibility improves," an IGI spokesperson told IANS.

Sunday's minimum temperature settled a notch below the season's average at 6.4 degrees Celsius. Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 100 percent.

Saturday's maximum temperature was at a notch above the season's average at 21.1 degrees Celsius and the minimum was recorded at 8.2 degrees Celsius, also a notch above average.

--Ino-Asian News Service

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