Dense Morning Fog In Delhi, Visibility Drops To 100 Metres

The national capital was engulfed in dense fog on Thursday morning with visibility dropping to 100 metres at 7 am even as the city recorded a minimum temperature at 5.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, the weather office said.

According to the weather office, at 7 am the visibility dropped to 100 metres at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city, due to dense fog.

The visibility due to dense fog at Palam oscillated between 50 metres and 100 metres since 4.30 am on Thursday. "The city will see mainly clear sky with moderate to dense fog," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said.  It added that the maximum temperature of Thursday will hover around 20 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature on Wednesday settled at 18.1, two below the normal.

The relative humidity at 8.30 am on Thursday was 100 percent, the weather office said.

Officials said that dense fog spell also delayed long route Delhi-bound trains.

Delhi's air quality was in poor category on Thursday morning as the AQI value at 9 am was 290, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

The AQI in Faridabad was 219, Ghaziabad 296, Gurugram 220, Greater Noida 294 and Noida 253.  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.