Punjab: A thick blanket of fog engulfed north India on Friday morning, reducing visibility to zero. Hundreds of flights and trains have been cancelled or delayed due to dense fog in north India in the past few weeks. Over 150 flights were delayed by an average of 41 minutes and around 26 trains were delayed due to poor visibility in Delhi-NCR. Giving an update on the situation, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Friday morning said that the dense fog has “impacted” the departure of flights. However, DIAL assured worried passengers that CAT III-compliant flights can land and depart at the airport. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a moderate to very dense fog warning for several parts of north India, including Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Hundreds of flights and trains have been cancelled or delayed due to dense fog in north India in the past few weeks.
Vehicles were seen crawling in parts of Delhi-NCR due to poor visibility on Friday morning, with most drivers turning on their hazard lights to make them visible to other drivers and prevent accidents. According to data on the Central Pollution Control Board’s website, the national capital’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 408 around 6 am, moving from ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category. In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Noida recorded an AQI of 328 which is in the ‘very poor’ category, Greater Noida had a ‘poor’ AQI of 295 and Ghaziabad also remained in the ‘very poor’ category, reaching 318. In Haryana’s Gurugram and Faridabad recorded an AQI of ‘very poor’, reaching 303 and 317 respectively. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. According to the IMD, Delhi’s minimum temperature was recorded at 9.6 degrees Celsius. The weather agency said the maximum and minimum temperatures in the capital on Friday would hover between 6 and 20 degrees Celsius. The Centre’s panel on Delhi-NCR air quality on Thursday reimposed Stage 3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) amid a sharp rise in air pollution levels due to adverse meteorological conditions.
