Dense fog disrupts air traffic in Chandigarh as mercury dips
The minimum temperature of Chandigarh fell from 8.7°C on Wednesday to 5.7°C on Thursday. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 4.2°C, Ludhiana 5.9°C, Patiala 6.2°C, while in Haryana, Ambala registered a minimum of 6.4°C and Karnal 6.5°C
Dense fog affected air and rail traffic in Chandigarh on Thursday morning as the temperature dropped further.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the dense fog would continue on Friday but was likely to reduce from Saturday.
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Visibility dropped to below 25 metres at 5.30am in Chandigarh and continued to remain the same at 8.30am. According to the IMD, fog is considered dense when visibility is below 50 metres. Shallow fog was recorded in Chandigarh on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Visibility was below 25 metres in adjoining Patiala and Ambala and was under 50 metres in Amritsar and Karnal. IMD officials said this happened due to drop in mercury.
While 11 flights from Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Chandigarh got delayed on Thursday morning due to the fog, a flight to arrive from Pune 5.55am was cancelled.
The delayed departure flights were headed to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Goa, while flights from Bengaluru and Delhi arrived behind schedule.
The morning Shatabdi Express from Kalka to New Delhi was delayed by around 40 minutes and the morning Shatabdi from New Delhi to Kalka ran 45 minutes late. The Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Chandigarh was delayed by 35 minutes.
The minimum temperature in Chandigarh fell from 8.7°C on Wednesday to 5.7°C on Thursday. In Punjab it was at 4.2°C in Amritsar, 5.9°C in Ludhiana and 6.2°C in Patiala. In Haryana, it was 6.4°C in Ambala, 6.5°C in Karnal and 6.8°C in Rohtak.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for dense fog and cold day conditions for Thursday and Friday. Orange alert is the second highest of the four-level alerts issued by IMD. Under orange alert, residents are advised to stay alert and be prepared.