Delhi-NCR and other states in North India on Tuesday woke up to dense fog that reduced visibility on roads and even at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, hitting flight operations. Apart from the delays, 11 flights were diverted to Jaipur and one flight was diverted to Lucknow between 6 am and 12 pm on Tuesday due to bad weather, Delhi Airport sources said.
Delhi airport alerted passengers of flight delays amid dense fog and according to the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System data, the IGI airport was experiencing delays in both arrivals and departures for about 30 flights in the morning.
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A passenger advisory issued by the Delhi airport also stated, "While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information."
CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS) is technically the anti-fog landing system initiated by the airport authorities in Delhi to facilitate landing when the runway visibility is low.
Train Movement Also Affected
As many as 14 trains were also affected due to fog and low visibility in the Northern Zone of the Indian Railways on Tuesday.
The IMD on Tuesday morning released satellite images showing a layer of fog spreading over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
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The IMD also warned of possible health impacts on people due to the dense fog in the national capital.
"Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath," IMD said in a release on Monday.
Delhi Sees a Warmer Christmas
It was a warmer Christmas for Delhiites as the maximum temperature settled at 23.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, on Monday, while the air quality showed a minor improvement to settle in the "very poor" category.
While Delhi's minimum temperature was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius on Monday, normal for this time of the year, on Tuesday the city logged minimum temperature at 7 degrees Celsius.
Delhi's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm everyday, was in the "very poor" category with a reading of 383. The AQI at 9.05 am stood at 393. The 24-hour AQI was 411 on Sunday.
