The entire North India is gripped by fog and cold; road, rail and air traffic affected; the meteorological department has issued an alert.

Dense fog blanketed most of North India on Monday, severely disrupting traffic in the National Capital Region (NCR), Uttar Pradesh, and the plains of Uttarakhand. Vehicles crawled on the roads due to poor visibility. Rail and air traffic were also affected, with a large number of flights cancelled and trains arriving hours late, causing distress to passengers. The drop in maximum temperatures also intensified the cold.

Similar weather conditions are expected to prevail for the next two days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted moderate to dense fog on Monday morning. However, dense fog enveloped Delhi and other NCR cities from Sunday night itself, bringing flight operations at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to a standstill.

128 Flights Cancelled at IGI Airport

Due to the thick blanket of fog, visibility on the runway dropped to below 50 meters. Despite the advanced AI-based CAT-3 system at IGI Airport, a total of 128 flights had to be cancelled for safety reasons. More than 300 flights were delayed by half an hour to four hours. Eight flights bound for Delhi were diverted to cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow.

Several Trains from Delhi Departed Late

Rail passengers also faced difficulties due to fog and pollution. More than 90 trains arrived in Delhi with delays ranging from two to 15 hours. Several trains departing from Delhi also left late. Delhi was once again shrouded in fog at night. Moderate to dense fog is expected on Tuesday as well. The Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for this. Moderate to dense fog is also likely on December 31st.

Smog Due to Fog and Pollution

Smog prevailed during the day due to fog and pollution. The minimum temperature rose by two degrees Celsius, reaching 8.3 degrees Celsius.

No Relief from Cold in Uttar Pradesh for Several Days

There will be no relief from the cold in Uttar Pradesh for the next few days. 20 districts of the state will be affected by dense to very dense fog for the next 24 hours, while 25 districts are likely to experience cold day conditions. The wind will also cause a biting chill.

A truck and a Canter collide on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.

Maximum temperatures will decrease in most districts, while minimum temperatures may rise. Due to dense fog, a car collided with a truck ahead of it on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway near Kudi Kheda village in Greater Noida. The canter driver died in the accident. Visibility on the expressway was less than 50 meters at the time of the accident.

Fog affects flights in Uttarakhand.

Fog affected normal life in the plains of Uttarakhand. Air, rail, and bus services were affected due to fog in Dehradun, Haridwar, and Udham Singh Nagar. Schools in Udham Singh Nagar remained closed on Monday due to the fog.

Eight flights arrived at Dehradun airport with a delay of one to five hours. Two Indigo flights from Delhi to Pantnagar were canceled at Pantnagar airport in Udham Singh Nagar. Roadways buses are taking three to four hours longer to reach Udham Singh Nagar from Delhi. This has increased the difficulties for passengers.

Gwalior-Chambal region gripped by dense fog.

The Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh is under the grip of cold winds coming from the hilly areas and dense fog. Due to dense fog, trains like Shatabdi, Gatimaan, Rajdhani, and Vande Bharat arrived in Gwalior several hours late. Visibility was recorded at less than 200 meters due to the fog. As a result, vehicles were seen crawling on the roads.

Delhi's air quality is in the severe category

Pollution in the capital has once again reached the severe category. For six days, Delhi's air remained in the poor to very poor category, but on Sunday night, the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossed 400, reaching the severe category. The same situation prevailed on Monday due to the lack of wind. According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 402 in the morning and 401 in the evening.

According to the SAMEER app, the AQI was above 400 at 24 out of 40 pollution monitoring stations. The highest AQI of 455 was recorded at Anand Vihar.

A dozen trains arrived late at Jammu station.

Due to reduced visibility caused by fog, about a dozen trains arrived late at Jammu railway station on Monday. One flight from Jammu to Leh had to be canceled, but an additional flight was sent to Leh for the convenience of passengers, while several other flights were delayed.