Dense fog-induced low visibility conditions led to around 450 flight delays and 40 cancellations from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi, news agency IANS reported. Poor visibility and non-compliant CAT III B trained pilots led to around 450 delays, 21 diversions and 40 cancellations.
The department also said that dense fog covered several parts of Bihar and moderate levels were observed in many pockets over Punjab, Chandigarh, West Rajasthan. "As per 0530 hours IST today, temperatures are showing positive tendency over Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Rajasthan and western UP. However, they are still towards negative over East Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," it said.
The maximum temperature in Delhi took a big tumble on Monday to settle at 9.4 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest December day since 1901. It was also the coldest day in the national capital during December-February period since 1951.
Consequent to fog, private airlines IndiGo and Vistara issued travel advisory for their passengers saying flights to and from the national capital have been impacted due to bad weather and poor visibility. Dense fog and eventual poor visibility have caused flight delays and cancellations across north India in the past few days.
According to the Safdarjung Observatory, the minimum temperature settled at 2.6 degrees Celsius on Monday, four notches below the season's average; humidity level was 100 per cent. The minimum temperature at Palam was 2.9 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road was 2.2 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar 2.5 degrees Celsius.
Severe cold wave conditions continued for the third day in most parts of Madhya Pradesh on Monday with two deaths reported from Shivpuri and Harda districts. With rain forecast for a couple of days from Tuesday, the state is likely to experience further drop in temperature.
As a thick fog descended on the region, six people from a joint family, including two minors, were killed when their car skidded off the road and fell into a canal in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida late Sunday night. Forty flights were cancelled, 21 diverted and at least 530 delayed until Monday afternoon, an airport official in Delhi told news agency PTI.
Train travellers were also hit due to the fog, marring year-end holidays for some and urgent travel plans for others. Thirty trains were delayed by two to seven-and-a-half hours on Monday, according to a Railways official.
While some people went about their work, many decided to stay at home, peering out of their windows hoping to catch a glimpse of the sun through the blanket of fog. The many thousands of homeless lit 'garbage' fires, made a beeline for government shelters or huddled in their threadbare blankets to stay warm.
The cold was just as intense elsewhere in north India. In Rajasthan, Sikar district recorded a minimum temperature of -0.5 degree Celsius, the meteorological department said. In the east, Odisha, too, saw cold wave conditions with the temperature dipping below 10 degrees Celsius in 16 places.
(With inputs from agencies)