Delhi Wakes Up to Coldest Morning of Season at 3.6 Degrees, Red Alert Issued Amid Zero Visibility & Delayed Trains

The national capital on Saturday recorded its lowest minimum temperature of the season at 3.6 degrees as thick fog shrouded the city, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The minimum temperature dipped to 3 degrees in Aya Nagar, the last village of Delhi on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road.

The weather department has issued a red alert due to cold and dense fog conditions in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The visibility at Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s main weather station, was 200 metres at 5:30 am, it added.

The minimum temperature in Lodi Road was recorded at 3.4 degrees, 3.6 in Safdarjung, 3.9 in Ridge and 5.8 in Palam, according to IMD.

The maximum temperature on Saturday is likely to settle around 19 degrees, IMD further noted.

According to an NDTV report, as many as 18 Delhi-bound trains were delayed by 1-6 hours due to dense fog and other weather-related conditions in the national capital and several other parts of the country.

Several flight operations were also delayed at the Delhi airport due to low visibility amid fog, reported ANI.

A day ago on Friday, Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 3.9 degrees Celsius, the lowest in five years.

Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 365 at 9:00 am, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

As per IMD, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, between 51 and 200 metres dense, between 201 and 500 metres moderate, and between 501 and 1,000 metres shallow.

The weather Aganecy further noted that a red alert has been issued in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh and a yellow alert, in Rajasthan given the cold and foggy conditions.

IMD has further issued a yellow alert in Delhi for the next 3 days as cold wave conditions are unlikely to abate.

“Dense to very dense fog has been reported in isolated parts of Punjab and East Uttar Pradesh, while dense fog has been recorded in isolated pockets over Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Gangetic West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Moderate fog was recorded in isolated pockets over Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh,” the IMD said in a statement.