Fog disrupts power, flights, trains in Delhi

Dense fog blinded the city on Thursday. The minimum temperature was recorded at 8.6 degree celsius and the maximum temperature stood at 19.3 degree celsius, one degree less than normal.

The Met Department has said that the fog will descend for at least two more days and Delhi will experience chilly mornings. “The visibility on the roads might fall near to zero level in the morning but it will improve during the day. The visibility will be around 700 meters during late afternoon and evening,” said a Met department official.

There are predictions of scanty rainfall on Friday with maximum temperature at 20 degrees and minimum at 11 degree celsius. Moreover, several areas in east, north-west and south Delhi like Geeta Colony, Rohini, Mehrauli, Mahipalpur, Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar and Sabzi Mandi reeled under power cuts for long hours on Thursday. The electricity department blamed tripping of lines due to dense fog and pollution for power cuts.

Some areas witnessed power failure for more than six hours. The Power Department said that the problem started around 2 am. “Due to dense fog, moisture was developed and it led to short circuit and subsequent tripping of electric lines,” said a Delhi Transco spokesperson.

The heavy fog also hit air traffic on Thursday. At least, 24 flights were delayed at Indira Gandhi Airport as the visibility and the runway visual range (RVR) reduced after midnight on Wednesday.

Low visiblity
A spokesperson of the Delhi International Airport Limited said that the Low Visbility Procedure were implemented on both runway number 28 and 29 due to low visibility at the airport. In total, 232 flights were operated under LVP till 4 pm. Weather at other destinations also contributed to delay and cancellation of flights on Thursday.

One cargo flight of Kalita Airlines was diverted to Karachi due to bad weather in the capital. Rail traffic was also affected, delaying several trains in the capital.