Cold wave grips Delhi, fog affects visibility slows traffic

A minimum temperature of 7 degree Celsius was recorded in Delhi, said the Meteorological (MeT) office.

New Delhi: Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning on Tuesday and dense fog lowered visibility in some areas of the city, affecting road and rail traffic.

“A minimum temperature of 7 degree Celsius was recorded in Delhi,” said the Meteorological (MeT) office.

The MeT office said that a layer of dense fog and moderate icy cold winds from the North were responsible for this steep fall in temperature.

“Northwesterly dry and cold winds will continue over Northwest India. However, intensity of fog may decrease leading to marginal increase in day temperatures and abatement of cold wave from parts of West Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana. Minimum temperature may also increase marginally,” said the MeT office.

“Light snowfall is going on over the upper reaches of Western Himalayas. Another Western disturbance is expected around December 30 and 31st. Moderate snowfall is possible during that time. Temperatures may dip once again on New Year eve,” he said.

The authorities at national capital’s Indira Gandhi International airport in the early hours of Tuesday also issued an advisory and said they requested people to get in touch with their service providers for updated information on flight schedule.

“While landings and take-offs continue, flights not equipped for low visibility operations may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information,” said the airport authorities in a tweet.

“Cold Day/Severe Cold Day Conditions very likely in some parts over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Rajasthan and cold day conditions in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 26th and 27th December 2022,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said.

“Due to prevailing light wind and high moisture in lower tropospheric levels, Dense to Very Dense Fog very likely to continue over some parts of Haryana, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours,” the IMD had said on Monday evening.