A thick layer of fog covered Delhi and the surrounding areas on Friday as a harsh cold wave continued to affect North India. The dense fog interrupted flight and train operations and greatly hampered road traffic, causing visibility to fall to zero in multiple locations. Furthermore, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the capital city worsened to the severe level, hitting a score of 409.
The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi experienced zero visibility on Friday, significantly hindering flight operations extensively. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced an orange alert for the city due to heavy fog.
At IGI Airport, more than 210 flights were delayed for departure, and five were canceled. Out of the arrivals, 72 flights experienced delays, and one was cancelled. At Kolkata Airport, 41 flights—24 leaving and 17 coming in—have experienced delays, as reported by the air traffic monitoring service, Flightradar.
The meteorological department cautioned that the situation “could impact airports, highways, and train routes, leading to challenging driving conditions with increased travel times.”
A thick fog obscured the roads, resulting in a multi-vehicle crash in Uttar Pradesh that injured multiple individuals. According to police, at least six cars were part of the collision on the Delhi-Lucknow Highway, temporarily obstructing the road.
Twenty-six train services experienced delays, with some being 7-8 hours late. The impacted services comprise numerous long-distance trains, including the Balurghat-Bhatinda Farakka Express, Hyderabad-New Delhi Telangana Express, Lucknow Mail, New Delhi Humsafar Express, Nanded-Shri Ganganagar Superfast, and UP Sampark Kranti, among others.
