New Delhi: Dense fog at Delhi airport this morning delayed take-off of 50 domestic flights this morning, news agency ANI reported. Eighteen incoming flights were also delayed due to low visibility in the capital that is shivering in a cold wave sweeping across north India.
Delhi airport authorities put out an alert late last night, asking passengers to check with airlines for updated info on flight timings.
The fog cover also hit train services, delaying 39 trains, a Railways spokesperson said.
Visibility was down to just 50 metres on the roads of the national capital this morning. According to the weather office, 'very dense fog' is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, between 51 and 200 metres is 'dense', between 201 and 500 metres 'moderate', and between 501 and 1,000 metres 'shallow'.
The capital, however, got some relief after five consecutive days of chills. The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 6.4 degrees Celsius. Over the oast few daysm the minimum temperature was hovering between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius.
According to meteorologists, the long spell of intense cold was caused due to a large gap between two western disturbances. This, they explained, meant frosty winds from snow-clad mountains blew over the capital longer than usual.