The national capital experienced another frigid morning, with the minimum temperature plummeting to 4 degrees Celsius. Flights departing from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport faced delays. A passenger expressed, “My flight is more than two hours late due to the bad weather. However, we cannot blame anyone. We cannot do anything about it,” as reported by ANI.
At the New Delhi Railway Station (NDRS), passengers waited as several trains were delayed due to poor visibility caused by the fog. Another passenger shared, “I am traveling to Kerala. My train, Kerala Express, is five hours late from the scheduled time,” according to ANI. Meanwhile, the Republic Day parade rehearsal occurred at Kartavya Path.
According to the Meteorological Department (MeT), fog is categorized as ‘shallow’ when visibility is up to 500 meters, ‘moderate’ when visibility is up to 200 meters, ‘dense’ when visibility is up to 50 meters, and ‘very dense’ when visibility drops below 50 meters.
On Monday, visibility was recorded as ‘zero for the first time this winter season in various locations, including Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Patiala, Ambala, Chandigarh, Palam, Safdarjung (New Delhi), Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Tezpur, according to the weather department.
Amid the thick blanket of fog, people were seen sitting around bonfires. Rahimali explained, “We sit around bonfires to protect ourselves from the cold weather. There has been a constant rise in the temperature since the beginning of January,” as reported by ANI. To cope with the freezing weather, several individuals sought refuge in government-run shelter homes, which provide blankets, beds, hot water, and food for homeless people.
IMD Scientist Soma Sen addressed the prevailing weather conditions, stating that minimal change in the minimum temperature is expected on Tuesday. She mentioned, “In Delhi and in North India, we are not expecting much change in the minimum temperature. Maybe a one-degree rise is likely because of the sunny skies, but foggy conditions will persist.” Sen projected continued foggy mornings, cold days, and cold wave conditions across the plains for at least the next two days, despite a gradual decrease in cold intensity.