Delhi-NCR was engulfed in a thick blanket of fog on Saturday early morning disrupting rail, road and flight operations as visibility was low at 100 metres. Traffic on road moved at snail’s pace emergency lights on in the morning due to low visibility. The minimum temperature settled at 8.4 degrees Celsius.
Around 20 north-bound trains were delayed by two to five hours due to the fog, a Northern Railways spokesperson said. Puri-New Delhi Purushottan Express and Sealdah-Amritsar Express were running behind schedule by 5 hours.
Even Varanasi-New Delhi Kashi Vishwanath Express and Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express were delayed by 4 hours and 30 minutes, Rewa-Anand Vihar Rewa Express was running behind its schedule by 4 hours.
Bhagalpur-Anabd Bihar Vikramshila Express, Katihar-Amritsar Express, Manduadih-New Delhi Shivganga Express and Raxaul-Anand Bihar Sadbhaeana Express were delayed by 3 hours, the official added.
Visibility was reduced to 50 metres in Palam at 5.30 am, a MeT Department official said. Relative humidity was 100 per cent at 8.30 am.
The fog is expected to disperse later in the day and the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 18 degrees Celsius, said the official.
By 9 am, the air quality index of Delhi was recorded at 240 which was in the ‘poor’ category, as per data of Central Pollution Control Board.
Earlier, on Friday, the minimum temperature was 11.3 degrees Celsius and the maximum 17.7 degrees Celsius.