Several cities in North India enveloped in fog amid prolonged cold weather

New Delhi [India]: Amid the prolonged cold weather in North India, several cities, including the national capital, were shrouded in a thick layer of fog on Friday morning, disrupting several modes of travel, including trains and flights. 

India Meteorological Department said that ‘Very Dense’ fog was observed in some parts of Delhi and in isolated pockets of Haryana this morning. 

“Fog conditions observed (at 0530 hours IST of today): Very Dense fog over some parts of Delhi; in isolated pockets of Haryana; Dense fog in isolated pockets of Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha; Moderate fog in isolated pockets of West Bengal,” IMD Posted on X. 

Due to the fog visibility was very poor in many towns in North India today. 

In the Palam and Safdarjung areas of Delhi, the visibility was recorded at 25 metres and 50 metres, respectively. 

“Visibility recorded (at 0530 hours IST of today) (<=500 metres): Delhi: Palam-25, Safdarjung- 50; Haryana: Hissar-25; Rajasthan: Ganganagar-200, Jaipur-500; East Uttar Pradesh: Gorakhpur-200, Sultanpur, Varanasi-500 each; Bihar: Purnea-50, Gaya, Bhagalpur-500 each; Jharkhand:Ranchi-200; West Bengal: Kolkata-500; Odisha: Jharsuguda, Chandbali- 200 each,” IMD Posted on X. 

Indira Gandhi International Airport here issued an advisory informing that flight operations at the airport may be affected today due to the fog. 

“Due to dense Fog, flight operations at Delhi Airport may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the advisory said. 
Low visibility caused by the fog also hampered train services. According to the Northern Railway, 23 trains arriving in the Delhi area are late today. 

The cold conditions in Delhi continued on Friday after light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms in various parts of Delhi-NCR on Thursday. 

In Delhi today, in the morning hours, the current temperature is recorded at 9 oC. 
According to the IMD, the Western Himalayan Region and select areas of Uttar Pradesh are anticipated to witness rainfall at one or two locations in the coming days. 
“The Western Himalayan Region (Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) also gets rainfall and snowfall activity, as shown in recent satellite imagery,” said IMD. 
Tikkar area of the Nawar valley in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district was covered in a blanket of snow on Friday morning. 
The Kharapathar area in Shimla also got covered in a blanket of snow as it received fresh snowfall this morning. 
The higher reaches of the Pirpanjal Mountains Range in Jammu and Kashmir received fresh snowfall today, and tourists and locals were seen enjoying the snowfall.