Dense fog has swept over Delhi and surrounding areas, precipitating a spate of disruptions in the form of delayed and diverted flights as well as hindered railway services. The city, encountering its coldest morning of the season at 3.3 degrees Celsius, is battling reduced visibility that is impacting essential travel services and complicating the resumption of schools post winter holidays. Schools in the capital are reopening with adjusted timing to accommodate the severe cold conditions.
Travelers at Delhi’s airport faced prolonged waits, with flightradar24 reporting 168 flights delayed and 84 cancelled, with an average wait time hovering around an hour, though some passengers reported much longer delays. IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Vistara, among other major carriers, cautioned that the inclement weather would affect their services, with a notable instance being an early morning flight to Kolkata rerouted to Hyderabad.
On the plus side, Delhi’s air quality index has shown some improvement, moving from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor.’ The city had previously experienced similar disruptions due to fog, marking the season’s first cold wave with temperatures plunging to chilling figures over the weekend.