Dense fog in morning disrupts flight, rail traffic; air quality remains poor in National Capital

Delhi woke up to a thick cover of fog on Monday morning, bringing down the temperature to a notch below season's average. As many as 27 trains were delayed and flights were also hit due to low visibility in the morning. The minimum temperature was recorded at 8 degrees Celsius according to the meteorological department.

"Around 27 trains were running behind schedule with an average delay of around three to four hours," the Railways said. Among those that got delayed included the Malda-Delhi Farakka Express and Allahabad-New Delhi Duronto.The visibility at Safdarjung observatory was recorded at 200 metres at 5.30 am that reduced to 100 metres at 8.30 am, a meteorological (Met) department official said.Meanwhile, at Palam the visibility was 50 metres at 5.30 am and 8.30 am which led to disruption of flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport.

"Due to fog, some of flights have been put on hold at the departure points. This has led to a delay," a source at Delhi airport said. However, he added that "largely, there have been no diversions or cancellations of flights" as yet. The minimum runway visibility required for take off at Delhi is 125 metres. The Met office has forecast clear skies for the day ahead with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 21 degrees.

The air quality index in the city settled at poor, with an AQI of 288 according to the Central Pollution Control Board. PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometre) remained the major pollutant recorded at 125.