Delhi airport's fog update for flyers as IMD issues red alert for capital

In view of a dense fog persisting in the national capital and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a ‘red alert’, the Delhi airport alerted all its passengers on Thursday. The airport said all fight operations are presently normal but “low visibility procedures are in progress”. Between Monday and Tuesday, around 100 flights were delayed and a few were diverted because of fog

“Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information,” it added.

Also read: Weather trends show Capital no longer gets benign fog

The weather department in its advisory wrote: “Dense to very dense fog at many places, cold day to severe cold day conditions at a few places and cold day conditions at isolated places.”

The IMD uses four colour codes for weather warnings - green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared), and red (take action).

Also read: Cold wave grips north India: This is the coldest place today

The numbing cold has gripped Delhi with the day temperature settling several notches below normal. On Wednesday, the national capital recorded the season's lowest temperature of 4.4 degrees Celsius. Before this, the lowest minimum temperature of the current winter season had been recorded on December 26 at 5 degrees Celsius.

The IMD declares a ‘cold wave’ when the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more below the normal mark, or when it drops to 4 degrees or lower.

On Thursday, the minimum temperature is predicted to settle at 3 degrees, while the maximum at 17 degrees Celsius.