'This Needs To End': Delhiites Wake Up To Dense Fog With Low Visibility

On Tuesday morning, the residents in the Delhi-NCR region woke up to dense fog engulfing the city. The fog-induced low visibility made it difficult for commuters to travel. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi also recorded a temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius. The Air Quality Index was fixated in a very poor category across the national capital, which made the visibility even worse. IMD reported that as of “9 am Palam and Safdarjung continue to report dense fog conditions with 50 m visibilities.”

According to the Meteorological Office, the UK’s national weather service, “fog is the name given to resulting visibility less than 1 km, however, in forecasts for the public, this generally refers to visibility less than 180 m.”

The dense fog has not only disrupted the normal life in Delhi-NCR but it has also led to flight and train delays. At 3.14 am on Tuesday, the Delhi Airport announced on X, “Low Visibility Procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are presently normal. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information.”

Three hours later, at 6 am, the airport authorities said, “While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.”

The Indian Railways also announced that “19 trains to and from Delhi are running late due to operational reasons and fog conditions in some parts of north India.”

Many people took to social media to share videos and photos that captured the extent of fog. Sharing a video of extremely low visibility on the road, an X user wrote, “Winter chills and commuter’s nightmare even past 10 am!! NCR and Delhi have poor visibility again!” Another person shared a video that showed just a white expanse of fog and exclaimed, “This needs to end.”

Complaining about the deteriorating weather, an X user remarked, “1 day of sunlight in Delhi and now we’re back to intense fog hate it here.” Sharing a similar sentiment, another person wrote, “Seriously!! Are we having an arctic blast in Delhi NCR? Look at this blinding fog & the chill. Snow must not be a far fetched dream.”

However, not all were fazed by the fog. Some fitness enthusiasts continued with their jogs and exercise routines.