Fog grips Delhi; air, rail traffic hit (Lead)
January 20th, 2012 - 1:55 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Dense fog enveloped the capital Friday morning, wreaking havoc on commuters as many trains and flights were cancelled or delayed while vehicles moved at a snail’s pace.
The visibility in the city dropped to “less than 50 metres” at 8:30 a.m., said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
According to the Northern Railway website at 9:30 a.m., 28 trains were running late by more than two hours while 40 were cancelled due to fog.
As per the website of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), 66 flights were delayed and 21 were cancelled till 11:30 a.m.
Airport officials, however, said fog was not the only reason behind the delays and cancellations as bad weather at destination airports and operational and technical reasons were also to be blamed.
“My early morning train to Ahmedabad has been cancelled and I will miss my cousin’s wedding. It’s frustrating how we continue to suffer year after year from the same problem of fog. Can’t we have a better technology in place,” complained 32-year-old Arun Vadala, a businessman.
The situation was no better on city roads as traffic crawled in several areas with the fog hitting hard office-goers and school-going students.
“I was to reach Gurgaon at 9 a.m. to meet a client but due to dense fog I was stuck on the Mahipalpur road for long,” said Anshuman Singh, a sales executive with an ad agency.
Friday’s minimum temperature dropped three notches below average at 4.5 degrees Celsius.
However, the met office has forecast that the day ahead would be clear and pleasant.
“The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 18 degrees,” said an IMD official.
- North India reels under severe cold, dense fog (Roundup) - Jan 20, 2012
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- Fog, chilly winds envelop capital, over 200 flights disrupted (Third Lead) - Jan 21, 2012
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- Fog affects 47 trains (Lead) - Dec 29, 2011
- Trains, flights disrupted as fog blinds Delhi (Second Lead) - Dec 30, 2011
- Capital shivers, fog disrupts trains, flights (Third Lead) - Dec 19, 2011
- Fog disrupts flights, trains in chilly Delhi (Lead) - Dec 20, 2011
- Fog disrupts train services in chilly Delhi (Second Lead) - Dec 20, 2011
- Fog hits air, rail traffic in cold Delhi (Lead) - Jan 19, 2012
- Fog disrupts train services in Delhi (Lead) - Dec 21, 2011
- Fog disrupts train services in Delhi (Lead) - Dec 21, 2011
- Thick fog envelops chilly Delhi, commuters hit - Jan 18, 2012
- Dense fog engulfs Delhi, affects commuters - Dec 30, 2011
- Cold day for capital, fog hits train services (Second Lead) - Dec 29, 2011
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