Delhi experienced a freezing start to Friday as dense fog blanketed the city, reducing visibility to near zero in many areas. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported the minimum temperature at 7°C at 5:30 a.m., marking another cold wave in the national capital.
Dense fog enveloped parts of the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) this morning, reducing visibility to zero and delaying more than 150 flights and about 26 trains. Flight delays averaged 41 minutes. In an update this morning, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said the flight departures have been “impacted” due to dense fog.
GRAP III Invoked In Delhi
Earlier on Thursday, the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked the Stage III restrictions under the anti-pollution Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR amid increased air pollution and declining trends of the air quality index (AQI).
The Commission said that in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions to impose GRAP measures, it was invoking the Stage-3 restrictions as “AQI of Delhi which was recorded as 297 on January 8, exhibited a sharp increasing trend and has been recorded 357 at 4 pm on January 9 due to calm winds and foggy conditions”.
The panel noted that in addition to this, the restrictions under Stage 1 and II of the revised GRAP shall remain in place, adding that authorities will continue to monitor and review the AQI levels in the entire Delhi and national capital region (NCR).
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