As many as 80 flights were delayed on Saturday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport due to a layer of dense fog that has continued to blanket the Delhi skies for the last few days, informed sources. Meanwhile, several trains were also delayed as fog reduced the visibility affecting the schedule of trains and flights.
"I am going to Mata Vaishno Devi and our train is late by more than two hours. Our train was supposed to arrive at 5.30 but it hasn't arrived yet," said a passenger set to board a train from the New Delhi Railway Station.
Auto and cab drivers said that the fog was slightly better today as compared to yesterday. "The fog conditions today are a bit better as compared to yesterday. The other day it took me two hrs to cover a forty-minute route." said a cab driver.
Meanwhile, dense fog surrounded several states of North India including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the visibility remained less than 50 metres in some areas, affecting normal life and commuting. The minimum temperature recorded in the national capital was 10.7 degrees Celsius. The Meteorological Department issued a red alert warning on December 31 in Delhi, UP, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan.
According to the IMD, the cold will increase further in these states from January 5, 2024. There will be no respite from the harsh cold till January 11. The weatherman had predicted a light rain and snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next 24 hours.
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