Delhi woke up to chills this morning, its streets wrapped in a blanket of dense fog that brought visibility down to a minimum.
In news that will bring some relief to Delhiites, the weather department has predicted that temperatures may rise Wednesday onwards owing to a western disturbance that will reduce fog and allow more sunlight to hit the surface.
The minimum temperature in the national capital this morning dipped to 5.6 degrees Celsius as a cold wave swept through north India, one degree below the normal. Hill station Nainital, in comparison, reported a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius.
Parts of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand reported dense to very dense fog conditions. Drivers on Delhi's streets kept hazard lights on while moving cautiously through the fog cover.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted severe conditions for Delhi today.
"Cold Day/Severe Cold Day Conditions very likely in some parts over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Rajasthan and cold day conditions in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 26th and 27th December 2022," the IMD had said in a bulletin at 3.30 pm yesterday.
"Due to prevailing light wind and high moisture in lower tropospheric levels, Dense to Very Dense Fog very likely to continue over some parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and West Rajasthan during the next 48 hours," the IMD said.
Delhi's air quality continues to remain the 'very poor' category.
Delhi airport authorities, in an early morning update, informed that while landings and take-offs continue, flights not equipped for low visibility operations may get affected. The authorities have advised passengers to get in touch with their service providers for updated information on flight schedule.
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