New Delhi: Delhiites on Sunday woke up to the coldest day of the season in the last five years as the western disturbances approached Northern part of India on Sunday. Thick blanket of fog which engulfed the national capital sent shivers down the spine of the city’s denizens. As fog enveloped the city, the maximum temperature settled at 15.4°C, six notches below the season’s average. Due to the dense fog cover, 103 trains were delayed and 27 had to be rescheduled.
“103 Delhi-bound trains were running behind schedule by several hours, while 27 others required to be rescheduled owing to poor visibility. However, there was no fresh cancellation of services announced. The 34 services, which were announced as cancelled between the period December 17 and January 15, only remain cancelled. There is no fresh cancellation,” a railway official said.
Flight operations were normal, officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport said, adding that the “weather condition did not have any impact on flight operations as visibility was fine”. However, as many as eight international and seven domestic flights arriving and departing from Delhi were delayed due to the foggy weather.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature settled at 15.4°C as against Saturday’s 24.5°C. The minimum temperature was recorded at 11.5°C, while the visibility was 500 metres, considered low for the period. At 8.30 am, the visibility was recorded at 600 metres. It further dropped to 300 metres at 11.30 am before improving three hours later. On Saturday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 24.5°C and 8°C respectively. The weatherman has further said that the maximum humidity was recorded as 98 per cent, whereas minimum was 91 per cent.
The IMD department has forecast that on Monday, the maximum and minimum would hover around 21°C and 10°C.
“The sky will remain clear throughout the day. Mist or shallow fog is likely to occur in the morning on Monday,” the IMD official said.
