Delhi Shivers At 4.2°C As Season’s Coldest Morning Brings Delays And Low Visibility

New Delhi: A thin layer of fog enveloped the national capital on Saturday morning, disrupting public life and causing delays in air and rail traffic, officials said.

The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 4.2 degrees Celsius, which was 2.7 degrees below the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). With this, Delhi recorded the coldest morning of the ongoing winter season since 2024. The previous coldest January day in recent years was recorded on January 15, 2024, when the minimum temperature had plunged to 3.3 degrees Celsius, triggering cold wave conditions across the national capital.

Station-wise data showed that the minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 4.2 degrees Celsius, Palam recorded 4.5 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road reported 4.7 degrees Celsius, the Ridge station registered 5.3 degrees Celsius, while Ayanagar also recorded 4.5 degrees Celsius, indicating a sharp dip across Delhi's weather stations. Today's reading was followed by Friday's second-coldest morning of the season, when the minimum temperature had dropped to 4.6 degrees Celsius.

IMD has predicted dense fog conditions during the day. Relative humidity was recorded at 100 per cent at 9 am.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport administration in New Delhi has issued a passenger advisory regarding delays in flight operations due to dense fog in the region. "Flight operations at Delhi Airport are running smoothly. For the latest flight updates, please stay connected with your respective airlines. We wish all our passengers a pleasant and hassle-free journey!" the advisory said.

As a precaution, train speeds have been reduced due to low visibility and dense fog to ensure safe operations impacting train schedules at various railway stations in the national capital. According to Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, “ Railways are taking special precautions during the fog to ensure safe train operations. The reduced visibility has slowed down the trains. Passenger safety is our priority, and there will be no compromise on passenger safety.

Following is the train running status at different railway stations in Delhi

New Delhi Railway Station:

• 02569 Darbhanga New Delhi Special: 7 hours 10 minutes late
• 12393 Sapt Kranti Superfast Express: 2 hours 53 minutes late
• 22823 Tejas Rajdhani Express: 1 hour 13 minutes late
• 12301 Rajdhani Express: 1 hour 20 minutes late
• 22462 Shri Shakti Express: 1 hour 12 minutes late
• 14315 Intercity Express: 56 minutes late
• 14086 Haryana Express: 2 hours 12 minutes late
• 11841 Geeta Jayanti Express: 3 hours 57 minutes late
• 12423 Rajdhani Express: 1 hour 12 minutes late
• 12730 Telangana Express: 4 hours 42 minutes late
• 12627 Karnataka Express: 3 hours 56 minutes late
• 12877 New Delhi Garib Rath: 2 hours 5 minutes late
• 12058 Janshatabdi Express: 2 hours 35 minutes late
• 12751 Jat Humsafar: 4 hours 12 minutes late
• 12715 Sachkhand Superfast Express: 1 hour 15 minutes late
• 82501 IRCTC Tejas Express: 2 hours 15 minutes late
• 20807 Hira Cold Express: 1 hour 44 minutes late
• 14619 Tripura Sundari: 7 hours 10 minutes late

Anand Vihar Terminal :

• 12435 Garib Rath Express: 2 hours 4 minutes late
• 12571 Anand Vihar Terminal Humsafar: 2 hours 44 minutes late
• 12211 Anand Vihar Terminal Garib Rath: 1 hour 5 minutes late
• 1217 Swarna Jayanti Express: 1 hour 17 minutes late
• 13429 MLDT ANVT Express: 2 hours 21 minutes late

Delhi Junction :

• 14217 Unchahar Express: 6 hours 35 minutes late
• 12225 Kaifiyat Express: 3 hours 31 minutes late
• 12219 Ashram Express: 45 minutes late
• 12379 Jallianwala Bagh Express: 2 hours 3 minutes late
• Hazrat Nizamuddin Station Status
• 22867 Nizamuddin Humsafar Express: 3 hours 29 minutes late
• 14211 New Delhi Intercity: One hour 38 minutes late
• 12409 Gondwana Superfast Express: 6 hours 14 minutes late
• 11841 Geeta Jayanti Express: 3 hours 13 minutes late
• 12723 Telangana Express: 5 hours 13 minutes late
• 12627 Karnataka Express: 3 hours 58 minutes late
• 12221 Nizamuddin Rajdhani: 3 hours 10 minutes late
• 12625 Kerala Superfast Express: 1 hour 25 minutes late
• 18477 Utkal Express: 2 hours 48 minutes late

The air quality remained in the 'poor' to 'very poor' category across Delhi, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). CPCB readings showed that Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 280, which falls under the 'poor' category.

Several areas witnessed a sharp decline in air quality. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 385, placing it in the 'very poor' category. Other locations with high AQI levels included Chandni Chowk at 335, Jahangirpuri at 340, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 354, ITO at 307, Ferozeshah Road at 307, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range at 360, Dwarka Sector 8 at 346, Ashok Vihar at 328 and Nehru Nagar at 392. IGI Airport Terminal 3 reported an AQI of 252, which still falls under the 'poor' category.

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