Thick fog blankets Delhi as cold waves sweep north India; several flights, trains cancelled

Delhi and most parts of north India woke up to thick, dense fog on Friday with most regions continuing to remain in the grip of severe cold waves.

Dense fog has massively affected visibility impacting train and flight operations as well as bringing down the temperature.

Delhi temperature today

On Friday morning, Delhi’s temperature was 9.6 degrees Celsius, making it the fifth cold day in a row for the city.

The minimum temperature on Friday was recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius and the maximum is expected to be 17 degrees Celsius.

#WATCH | Visibility affected as a thick blanket of fog descended over Delhi.

Visuals from AIIMS and Safdarjung. pic.twitter.com/e9cSEHxiAw

— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2025

The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi at 9 am on Friday stood at 351 and remained in the ‘very poor’ category.

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#WATCH | Visibility affected as a thick blanket of fog descended over Delhi.

Visuals from Dwarka Expressway. pic.twitter.com/xPwjWHmDZe

— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2025

Morning visuals from most parts of Delhi including Akshardham, Lodhi road, Shankar road showed thick fog and very poor visibility.

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Delhi weather forecast

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted ‘dense to very dense fog’ in Delhi on Friday and Saturday.

As per the weather department, the national capital is expected to witness fog till January 8, with light rain predicted on January 6.

Flight operations affected

According to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, the general visibility at 6 am dropped to zero. Also, on Friday the runway visibility was between 200 to 500 meters.

Operations of flights that are not equipped to land in low visibility conditions have been affected.

Update issued at 06:35 hours.
Kind attention to all flyers!#Fog #FogAlert #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/IAEHvyua0w

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) January 3, 2025

As per FlightRadar24, as many as 80 flights were delayed on Friday with the average delay of 13 minutes. Some of the flights were also cancelled.

IndiGo has issued a travel advisory, asking passengers to recheck flight status before travelling to the airport.

#6ETravelAdvisory: Another foggy morning is expected for #Delhi, #Bengaluru, and #Lucknow. We advise you to monitor your flight status before starting your journey https://t.co/IEBbuCsa3e. (1/2)

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) January 2, 2025

SpiceJet too has cautioned that due to bad weather in Delhi, all departure and arrivals as well as their consequential flights might get affected.

#WeatherUpdate: Due to bad weather in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via https://t.co/2wynECZugy.

— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) January 3, 2025

Both the carriers have also informed about the possible change in flight schedule in Srinagar and Chandigarh due to poor visibility.

Delay in arrival, departure of trains in Delhi

Poor visibility has also impacted departure from and arrival of trains in Delhi. On some routes, trains are being operated with changed timings.

At least 24 trains departing from Delhi were delayed due to weather-related conditions.

#WATCH | Delhi: Several trains delayed at New Delhi railway station due to fog as coldwave grips the city.

(Visuals from New Delhi Railway station) pic.twitter.com/NucZl6ZCGQ

— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2025

Apart from Delhi, dense fog is expected to remain over Rajasthan’s Kota, Bundi, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu, Sri Ganganagar and Tonk, Punjab’s Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Kapurthala, Haryana’s Kurukshetra, Amabal, Panchkula and Yamunanagar.

Meanwhile, parts of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh are expected to experience light rain and snow.

With inputs from agencies.