Dense fog engulfed New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Saturday, 16 January, affecting visibility and resulting in cancellation of flights and trains. The fog comes at a time when northern India is grappling with a cold wave as well as worrying levels of air pollution.
Owing to poor visibility, Delhi Airport put out an advisory post-midnight on Saturday requesting passengers to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information, The Indian Express reported.
Several flights either originating from or arriving in the capital were either cancelled, delayed or diverted.
“Due to dense fog, only CAT IIIA and CATIII B compliant aircraft and pilots are able to operate. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information, Any inconvenience is regretted,” the airport tweeted at 1.30 am Saturday.
Moreover, air quality in New Delhi-NCR region remained in the ‘severe’ category, which can be attributed to low wind speed not allowing dispersal of pollutants in the air.
According to System of Air Quality & Weather Forecasting & Research (SAFAR), Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) stands at 492, which comes under severe category.
Apart from flights, trains, too, have been cancelled. Hindustan Times reported at least 19 trains have been fully cancelled because of the fog situation in North Delhi. The cancelled trains include New Delhi-Kanpur holiday special, Lucknow-Agra Inter-city, Sikkim Mahananda Express.
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