New Delhi: Widespread fog enveloped the northern and eastern regions of India on Thursday, causing significant disruptions to both road and rail traffic, officials reported.
A spokesperson for the railways revealed that the schedules of "24 trains approaching Delhi" were impacted by the dense fog. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) categorized the fog as "very dense" in isolated pockets of Punjab, west Uttar Pradesh, and Tripura. Additionally, "dense" fog affected areas including east Uttar Pradesh, Jammu, Haryana, Delhi, east Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Assam. Some regions, such as north Rajasthan and west Madhya Pradesh, experienced "moderate" fog.
Visibility dropped to alarming levels, reaching zero meters in Punjab's Bhatinda, 25 meters in Tripura's Agartala, and 50 meters in various locations including Jammu, Hisar in Haryana, Varanasi, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Sagar and Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Purnea in Bihar, and Assam's Tezpur.
Palam Observatory, near the Indira Gandhi International Airport, reported a visibility level of 100 meters at 5:30 am, which improved to 500 meters by 7 am due to surface winds. Ganganagar in Rajasthan and Bhopal in west Madhya Pradesh recorded a visibility level of 200 meters.
The India Meteorological Department uses specific criteria to categorize fog: "very dense" when visibility is between 0 and 50 meters, "dense" between 51 and 200 meters, "moderate" between 201 and 500 meters, and "shallow" between 501 and 1,000 meters.
According to Kuldeep Srivatava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting center, a persistent layer of uplifted fog since December 27 has hindered sunlight from reaching the plains, resulting in lower maximum temperatures compared to the hills.
The northern plains experienced some relief on Wednesday as sunlight pierced through the thinned fog layer, though chilly winds kept temperatures down. Since December 30-31, "cold day" to "severe cold day" conditions have prevailed across many parts of north India. A "cold day" is defined as a day with a minimum temperature less than or equal to 10 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature at least 4.5 notches below normal, while a "severe cold day" is characterized by a maximum temperature at least 6.5 notches below normal.
—Input from Agencies