By IANS,
New Delhi : A heavy blanket of fog engulfed the capital Sunday morning, reducing visibility levels and disrupting several flight and train schedules. Met officials said the foggy conditions would continue in the coming days.
“The heavy fog cover in the capital in the early hours of Sunday was highest at around 7 a.m. when visibility was less than 50 meters. The fog subsequently cleared up by late morning (9 a.m.) and visibility was 500 meters then,” said an airport Met office official.
At least 10 international and eight domestic flights were delayed owing to the fog cover. These included Jet Airways and Indian flights from Delhi to Mumbai. Some of the international flights were delayed by six hours, leaving passengers distraught, an airport official said.
“One domestic and three international flights were also cancelled, as visibility was not conducive for flight take-off operations,” the official said.
“Several landings were also delayed,” he added.
The official said that the fog had cleared up by 9 a.m. and flight operations had resumed.
Some of the inbound trains from the northeast were running late as well. These included Poorva Express, Malwa Express and Lakshmi Express.
Purushottam Express, Shramjeevi Express, Mahabodhi Express, Bihar Sampark Kranti, Kashi Vishwanath Express and Jansadharan Express were also delayed due to the poor visibility.
The minimum temperature recorded was 13.5 degrees Celsius and early morning fog is likely to continue in the coming two days, said an official at the Safdarjung Met office.
But he forecast clear skies during the day Monday, unlike the cloud cover Sunday.
The maximum temperature hovered at around 20.7 degree Celsius. Humidity recorded was high at 90 percent, the official said.