 "Delhi weather update: Dense fog disrupts travel; visibility woes continue")
Persistent cold conditions and fog once again gripped Delhi on Friday, a day after light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms occurred in various parts of Delhi-NCR on Thursday. Parts of the city woke up to dense fog on Friday, impacting train and flight services. The national capital's IGI Airport reported zero visibility since 6 am on the same day, affecting schedules, according to news agency ANI.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) detailed fog conditions, highlighting very dense fog over some parts of Delhi and isolated pockets of Haryana, Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The visibility recorded at 5:30 am was particularly low in various locations. In Delhi, Palam had 25 metres visibility and Safdarjung 50m; Haryana: Hissar-25m; Rajasthan: Ganganagar-200m, Jaipur-500m; East Uttar Pradesh: Gorakhpur-200m, Sultanpur & Varanasi-500m each; Bihar: Purnea-50, Gaya & Bhagalpur-500m.
The IMD highlighted another western disturbance forecasted for February 2, likely to bring changes to Delhi's weather. Satellite imagery posted by the IMD showed fog/low clouds over several regions. Recent reports also mentioned light to moderate-intensity rain in various parts of Delhi, including Punjabi Bagh, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Delhi Cantt, Palam, Safdarjung, Lodi Road, and IGI Airport.
Fog conditions may ease up after Feb 4-5
The weather department anticipates a reduction in fog density after February 4 and 5, with the activation of another western disturbance on February 3-4, bringing the possibility of light to moderate rain and thunderstorms in select areas.
READ: Delhi Airport issues advisory as flight operations get affected due to fog
READ: Delhi Airport issues advisory as flight operations get affected due to fog
Moreover, the Western Himalayan Region and select areas of Uttar Pradesh are expected to witness rainfall in the coming days. "The Western Himalayan Region (Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand) also gets rainfall and snowfall activity," stated the IMD.
Rains bring temporary relief in Delhi's AQI
Thursday's rainfall brought relief to Delhiites, significantly improving air quality from the 'Very Poor' category to 'Moderate' with a reading of 177 on the Air Quality Index (AQI).
Delhi experienced a minimum temperature of 12.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday, with a maximum temperature reaching 18.6 degrees Celsius. Parts of Rajasthan also received light showers due to a western disturbance in the region.
The average maximum temperature in Delhi for January 2024 stood at 17.7 degrees Celsius, the lowest in 13 years.