Severe winter conditions have gripped North India as heavy snowfall in the Himalayan region and dense fog in the plains disrupted normal life. Flight operations, train services, and road traffic were badly affected due to low visibility.
Dense Fog Disrupts Air, Rail, and Road Transport in Northern Plains
New Delhi: North India is currently in the grip of a severe cold wave. The effects of heavy snowfall in the hilly areas are now clearly visible in the plains. Heavy snowfall occurred in Kashmir and the Leh region of Ladakh on Sunday, leading to a sharp drop in temperature. Rohtang Pass and Shinkula Pass in Himachal Pradesh are also covered in snow. Several roads in the mountains have been closed due to the snowfall, disrupting normal life.
Dense fog and a cold wave have intensified the cold in the plains of North India, including Delhi-NCR. The sun did not appear in the capital Delhi throughout the day on Sunday. Due to extremely low visibility, vehicles were seen crawling on the roads. According to the Meteorological Department, the activation of a Western Disturbance has caused a sudden change in the weather, further aggravating the cold and foggy conditions.
The dense fog has had the biggest impact on air services. Due to extremely low visibility at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, 110 flights had to be canceled, while more than 450 flights were delayed. 11 flights were canceled from Srinagar airport, and two flights were also affected in Ayodhya. Passengers had to wait for hours at the airports.
Rail traffic has also been severely affected due to the fog. More than 70 trains arriving in Delhi were delayed by two to four hours. These included major trains like Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi, Vande Bharat, and Tejas. Meanwhile, the risk of road accidents has also increased on national highways due to low visibility.
Along with the cold, pollution has also added to people's woes. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded at 386, which falls in the 'very poor' category. People suffering from respiratory illnesses have been advised to take special precautions due to the toxic smog.
The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in Uttar Pradesh due to severe cold. A warning of dense fog and cold wave has been issued for the next one week. Bulandshahr was the coldest district in the state, where the minimum temperature was recorded at 7 degrees Celsius. In Narnaul, Haryana, the temperature dropped to 5.2 degrees Celsius.
The 40-day period of the harshest winter in the Kashmir Valley, known as 'Chilla-i-Kalan', has begun. Gulmarg recorded about six inches of snowfall, while the lower areas received rain. The cold is expected to intensify in the coming days, which could further affect daily life.
