The new year has begun with another chilly morning for the residents of Delhi as dense fog continued to cover the city with the minimum temperature predicted to be below 10 degrees Celcius. The national capital on Saturday recorded a maximum temperature of 15.9 degrees Celcius which was five notches below the normal, as per India MEterological Department (IMD). A layer of fog has engulfed most parts of north India across Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal as well.
"Fog layer (encircled patch) over Punjab, north Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northwest Madhya Pradesh, south Uttarkhand, Sub Himalayan West Bengal is visible in satellite picture at 06:15 IST of 01.01.2024," IMD said in a post on X.
Amidst the increasing coldwave in the National Capital, the homeless people took shelter in night shelter homes. The IMD has predicted mainly clear sky after dense fog in the morning with cold day conditions in the city on Monday. However, a dense fog is likely to remain in the city for the entire week with the minimum temperature expected to hover below 10 degrees Celcius.
Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) in the town was recorded at 358 (Very Poor category), as of 7 am data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Anand Vihar recorded a further worse quality air with AQI 372, while in RK Puram, AQI stood at 393.
Indian Railways said around 21 trains running late in the Delhi area due to fog.
The IMD has issued an alert for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. "Dense to very dense fog conditions (visibility <50 m) very likely to prevail in some parts over Uttar Pradesh during 31st December 2023 night to 02nd January 2024 morning and in isolated pockets thereafter for subsequent 2-3 days," the IMD said.