Dense fog in Delhi halts air, rail services

97 flights delayed due to low visibility, more than 50 trains delayed, many rescheduled

Operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here came to a standstill on Monday morning, with visibility dropping due to dense fog. A total of 173 flights were delayed by more than 15 minutes. Of these, 97 were scheduled to depart from here, while the rest were arrivals.

According to an airport bulletin, 59 flights were delayed due to reasons other than fog. Departures of seven flights were cancelled, the bulletin added.

Low-visibility procedures were initiated at the airport here at 3.12 am and terminated at 2.50 pm. A total of 140 flights operated under such procedures.

Dense fog also disrupted train services. About 50 trains were delayed in the first few hours of the morning, while many were rescheduled.

Low visibility also hit flight services in Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Agartala, Patna, Jammu, Varanasi and Chandigarh. It was the coldest December 22 in the past five years, with mercury dropping to the season's lowest of 4.2 degrees Celsius. According to the meteorological office, the minimum temperature was four notches below normal and dropped 2.2 degrees from Sunday's 6.4 degrees Celsius. At least four died in the North on Monday because of the cold.