100 FLIGHTS DELAYED...
Most intense fog witnessed on Monday night and Tuesday morning in Delhi of this winter season. In some parts of Punjab haze has been spread the way across the Indo-Gangetic plain.
Officials said, at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport the fog led to visibility to 50 meters on Monday from 10pm till 4am Tuesday, 100 flights delayed. On Monday midnight between 11pm five other flights were diverted to Jaipur.
RK Jenamani, scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said on Monday to 1pm on Tuesday visibility stayed low at most airports across northern India, with operations impacted at some places between 6pm.
“The fog covered nearly 1 million sq km in area, covering north, central, and eastern India. As compared to the previous such spell of fog this winter, which occurred on December 27, the fog covered nearly three times more area on Monday night and Tuesday morning,” he said, adding that visibility stayed between 50 to 100 metres between 10pm on January 2 and 4am on January 3.
Only CAT-III B-compliant pilots or airlines were allowed to land between 10.30pm and 4am, an airport official said.
The lowest maximum temperature recorded in the city was 14.7°C at southwest Delhi’s Jafarpur, and isolated parts of the Capital recorded “cold day” conditions, IMD officials said.
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