Weather update: Cold wave conditions continue in Delhi-NCR: IMD

New Delhi: Cold wave conditions continued as a blanket of dense fog engulfed Delhi-NCR pushing the visibility to zero, causing major disruptions to air and rail traffic on Sunday.

As per IMD, this foggy spell is expected to linger for the next four days (January 18) in the national capital and other parts of the region.

On Sunday, the minimum temperature in the city dropped to 3.5 degrees Celsius. The mercury dipped even lower in the Lodhi Road area to 3.4 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees below normal. At Palam, the minimum temperature was recorded at 5.9, Ayanagar 4.0, and Ridge 4.4, respectively.

A thick blanket of fog covered most parts of the NCR region, and visibility on the roads was reduced to zero.

As per the Indian railways, around 22 trains to Delhi from various parts of the country were running late, and several flight operations at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were also affected due to the dense fog.

Meanwhile, parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh also witnessed dense fog and recorded the minimum temperature several notches below normal.

The IMD forecast that the coldwave conditions, along with dense to very dense fog, will continue until January 18.

According to IMD, no significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over Northwest India during the next 24 hours, following which the temperatures will see a rise of 2-3°C for the subsequent three days.

Moreover, a fresh Western disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan region on Tuesday, January 16.

Meanwhile, for the first time this winter season, zero visibility was recorded across parts of the country, from Amritsar to Dibrugarh, across Ganganagar, Patiala, Ambala, Chandigarh, Palam, Safdarjung, Bareilly, Lucknow, Bahraich, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Assam's Tezpur. (UNI)