India's capital territory experiences season's longest zero-visibility fog, hundreds of flights hit
Dense fog covered India’s capital territory on January 4, reducing visibility to zero for nine hours—the longest spell of the season.
The thick fog caused major disruptions at the Delhi airport, with 19 flights diverted, over 400 delayed, and more than 45 cancelled. Of the diverted flights, 13 were domestic, four were international, and two were non-scheduled.
A similar situation unfolded on January 3, when heavy fog delayed over 400 flights, Hindustan Times reports.
At Palam, zero visibility lasted from 6 pm to 3 am (UTC), while the city’s main weather station at Safdarjung reported eight hours of zero visibility.
Train services were also badly affected. Northern Railway reported that 59 trains were delayed by up to six hours, and 22 trains by around eight hours.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the maximum temperature on January 4 was 20°C, while the minimum dropped to 7.8°C. The city’s air quality remained in the "very poor" category with a 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 378.
Travellers and commuters are advised to check updates as foggy conditions are expected to continue affecting transport.
