In the thick of it: A rickshaw cart puller waiting to cross a road as motorists make their way amid dense fog on a cold winter morning in New Delhi. — AFP
Dense fog and cold weather delayed train and flight departures in several parts of northern India, including its capital New Delhi.
India’s weather office issued an orange alert for Delhi, the second highest warning level, forecasting dense to very dense fog in many areas.
Visibility at Delhi’s main airport yesterday was between zero to 100m, the weather office said, and more than 40 trains across northern India were delayed because of fog, local media reported.
Some aircraft departures from Delhi were delayed, airport authorities said on social media platform X, warning that flights lacking the CAT III navigation system that enables landing despite low visibility would face difficulties. Delhi’s main airport handles about 1,400 flights every day.
“Low visibility and fog over Delhi may lead to some delays,” the country’s largest airline IndiGo said in a social media post.
Local media showed images of vehicles crawling along highways through the fog, and people huddled indoors as the temperature dipped to 7°C.
Delhi was ranked as the world’s most polluted city in live rankings by Swiss group IQAir yesterday, with a reading of 254, ranked as “very unhealthy”.
The Indian capital has been battling poor air quality and smog since the beginning of winter. — Reuters
