Flight, train operations affected due to dense fog in Delhi
New Delhi: Dense fog blanketed Delhi on Wednesday, reducing visibility to less than 50 meters across the city, affecting flights, rail and road traffic.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies fog intensity into four types – shallow, moderate, dense and very dense fog. Visibility ranges from 999 m to 500 m, 499 m to 200 m, 199 m to 50 m and <50 m respectively.
As the day progresses, the fog is expected to gradually clear, due to which the environment will clear by afternoon.
Vigilance has been increased in railway operations due to dense fog, which has affected the departure and arrival timings of trains.
Flight schedules are also being affected, with many flights being delayed and some possibly having to be cancelled.
More than 40 flights have been delayed due to the dense fog that continued till 8 am. This includes disruption of eight international departures, four international arrivals, 22 domestic departures and five domestic arrivals.
Delhi airport has also issued an advisory, which reads: “While landings and takeoffs are continuing at Delhi Airport, flights which are not CAT Ill compliant may be affected. Passengers are requested to check the updated flight information. “Please contact the airline concerned. Any inconvenience caused is serious and regretted.”
In the challenge posed by fog for passengers, many trains coming to Delhi region are also facing delays, causing frustration among the passengers.
25 trains were behind their scheduled arrival times, and the extent of the delays varied on several routes.
Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express and Howrah-New Delhi Purva Express were running late by five hours, the highest delay of one hour in the entire day.
Passengers traveling or about to board the Chennai-New Delhi Grand Trunk Express were also urged to check the updated schedule due to the delay of 4:40 hours.
Among the 25 trains running late, Golden Temple Mail is also running late by 2:38 hours from its scheduled time.
Delhi’s air quality remains in ‘severe’ category. The AQI scale classifies levels from 0 to 500, with Anand Vihar breaching the ‘severe’ threshold.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), PM2.5 levels in Anand Vihar area remain in the ‘severe’ category at 500 and PM10 has touched 500, and CO has dropped to 118, which is classified as ‘moderate’. Has been classified as.
An air quality index (AQI) between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’; 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’; 101 and 200 ‘medium’; 201 and 300 ‘poor’; 301 and 400 ‘very poor’; and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport T3 saw PM2.5 level of 437 and PM10 level of 431, both of which fall in the ‘severe’ category. The CO level was recorded at 132, maintaining ‘moderate’ rating.
Passengers are urged to exercise caution due to low visibility due to dense fog during the early morning hours, and are urged to stay updated about the real-time schedule and plan their journey accordingly.
