Thick fog engulfs Delhi, reducing visibility to zero; IMD predicts similar conditions to continue in coming days

Pic/PTI

Several areas of the national capital recorded zero visibility after dense fog blanketed the city on Friday, the weather department said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted similar conditions in the coming days for Delhi, news agency PTI reported.

Meanwhile, the city recorded the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 371, falling in the "very poor" category, with 10 monitoring stations entering the "severe" category as readings rose above 400, data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed.

According to PTI, these stations included Jahangirpuri, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Nehru Nagar, Okhla Phase 2, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, and others. The remaining stations fell under the "very poor" category.

On Thursday, the AQI stood at 318.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in the city settled at 21.2 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees above average, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 7 degrees Celsius, IMD said, adding that the relative humidity during the day ranged between 74 and 100 percent.

More than 100 flights were delayed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday morning as visibility dropped to zero until 9.30 am in some areas owing to dense fog, PTI reported.

It said all runways are operating under CAT-III, which allows aircraft to operate in low visibility conditions.

An official said despite the delay, there are no diversions at the airport so far.

"While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi airport, flights that are not CAT-III compliant may be affected. Passengers are requested to contact their respective airlines for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a post on X at 6.35 am.

The weather office has predicted a partly cloudy sky for Saturday, with predominant surface winds from the northwest at speeds of less than 4 kmph in the morning.

Moderate fog and smog are expected in most areas, with dense fog in isolated places during the morning. Wind speeds are likely to increase to 4-6 kmph in the afternoon, before decreasing to less than 4 kmph from the southwest direction in the evening and night.

Smog and shallow to moderate fog are also expected during the evening and night hours, it said.

The maximum and minimum temperatures on Saturday are expected to settle at 21 and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

(With PTI inputs)