Delhi temperature three degrees below normal, warmer weekend likely

New Delhi: Delhi and the whole of north India has been reeling under severe cold since last few days. On Friday, Delhiites experienced another chilly day with maximum temperature dropping to 14.6 degrees Celsius, which was 6.5 degrees below normal and a fall of three degrees since yesterday. And to make matters worse, the ensuing fog badly affected train and flight schedules.

With the visibility dropping below 50 metres, 90 flights were delayed and six were cancelled on Friday. The fog's impact was felt in Mumbai in Hyderabad too. At least six flights from Mumbai to Delhi were delayed. Live updates on flight information

The Met department has, meanwhile, predicted a warmer weekend for Delhi. But the next 48 hours are going to be tough for Punjab, Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan, as the Met department has predicted ground frost to occur in these areas.

However, no relief has been predicted on the fog front. Going by the weather experts, tomorrow is going to be another foggy day. Visibility in dense fog is expected to reduce to 200 metres or below over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, north Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

A few places could also witness rainfall accompanied by snow over western Himalayan region.

Several prominent personalities like Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former top cop and now Team Anna member Kiran Bedi tweeted today that they were stuck at Delhi due to the delayed flights.

"I'm waiting for the fog to lift so I can leave Delhi & head back to Srinagar," tweeted Mr Abdullah.

"Sitting in the plane for over last two hrs+to fly. Enveloped by fog. Perfect day to have walked instead in Lodhi Gardens," tweeted Ms Bedi.

Apart from flights, train traffic was also affected. According to Northern Railways, around 20 trains have been rescheduled, 15 delayed and over 25 cancelled.

This is the third day in a row that thick fog has descended on the city. Yesterday too, a thick blanket of fog had delayed nearly 50 flights in the morning at the Delhi airport. Flights were able to take off only after the fog cleared at around 10 am.