Dense fog likely from 8 pm in Delhi-NCR; IMD issues cold day warning

Residents of Delhi-NCR are likely to face moderate to dense fog from around 8 pm on Monday, with cold day conditions expected at isolated locations, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

 

“The temperature is likely to remain the same; however, the wind speed is currently too slow, at over 5 kmph, which could lead to moderate to dense fog from 8 pm onwards today till tomorrow morning,” Mahesh Palawat, an IMD official, told Business Standard.

 

“Mainly clear skies with moderate to dense fog, with predominant surface winds from the westerly direction at speeds of up to 10 kmph, prevailed during the past 24 hours. A partly cloudy sky with moderate to dense fog conditions and winds reaching up to 15 kmph from the northwest direction prevailed over the region in the forenoon today,” he added.

 

 

The forecast comes after the national capital woke up to dense fog and smog on Monday morning, which disrupted air traffic, slowed vehicular movement and pushed air quality into the ‘severe’ category.

 

Maximum temperatures are expected to remain between 19°C and 21°C, near seasonal normals, according to IMD.

Weather systems influencing conditions

In its evening bulletin, the IMD attributed the prevailing conditions to a fresh western disturbance in the middle tropospheric westerlies.

 

According to the department, a trough at around 5.8 km above mean sea level has moved east-northeastwards, while a subtropical westerly jet stream with core winds of nearly 155 knots prevails over south Rajasthan.

 

“These systems are contributing to calm wind conditions over Delhi, increasing the likelihood of fog formation during the evening and night hours,” it said.

Fog disrupts flight operations at Delhi airport

Dense fog and low visibility conditions disrupted air traffic at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday.

 

According to news agency PTI, 128 flights were cancelled - 64 departures and 64 arrivals - while eight flights were diverted.

 

Nearly 200 flights were delayed, with average departure delays of about 24 minutes, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

 

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates the airport, said runway visibility has improved but warned that some arrivals and departures may still face delays.

 

“Fog continues to persist across Delhi and several airports in northern India. Visibility remains reduced and flight movements are slower than normal,” IndiGo said in a post on X.

Air quality remains in ‘severe’ category

Delhi remained under a thick blanket of smog on Monday morning, with the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 402, categorised as ‘severe’, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

 

Air quality was ‘severe’ at 22 monitoring stations, ‘very poor’ at 14 and ‘poor’ at one station. Vivek Vihar in East Delhi recorded the highest AQI at 456.

 

Under CPCB standards, an AQI above 401 falls in the ‘severe’ category.