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The visibility levels dropped to 25 metres at the Palam observatory, near the IGI Airport, and the Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Pictures: PTIThe visibility levels dropped to 25 metres at the Palam observatory, near the IGI Airport, and the Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Satellite images showed a fog layer extending from Punjab and adjoining northwest Rajasthan to Bihar through Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Around 29 trains have been delayed by two to five hours due to foggy weather, a railway official said. Around 15 flights were delayed and one flight was diverted due to bad weather, officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport said.
The cold wave spell in Delhi has been so intense that the national capital has recorded a minimum temperature lower than that of most places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for five days on the trot.
Meteorologists attribute the long spell of intense cold to a large gap between two western disturbances, which meant frosty winds from the snow-clad mountains blew in for a longer-than-usual period.
The Safdarjung observatory logged a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius as against 1.9 degrees on Sunday.
The chilly weather has prompted the Delhi government to extend winter vacation in schools till January 15.
A senior IMD meteorologist said short-term relief is likely after a couple of days under the influence of back-to-back western disturbances.
The IMD said the foggy weather may lead to road accidents and advised people to drive slowly and use fog lights. It said there are chances of tripping of power lines in areas witnessing very dense fog.
