Max 16.2 degrees, min 7.6°C as bitter cold persists in city

Once and for all, the disputes between the LG and you (Delhi government) should end! SUPREME COURT

- HT Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of fog on Thursday, as visibility dropped to zero in the morning, disrupting flights, trains and vehicular traffic across the region, marking one of the most challenging mornings of the winter so far.

More than 300 flights coming in and out of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were delayed on account of the "very dense" fog engulfing the area around the airport for two hours between 6am to 8am.

Officials, however, said that no diversion or cancellation of flights was reported as the fog cleared up by early afternoon.

The average delay for a flight was reported around 18 minutes, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

The sharp drop in visibility also impacted trains coming into Delhi. Northern Railways said at least 43 trains were delayed due to poor visibility.

On the roads, drivers faced challenging conditions as visibility dropped sharply, impacting traffic flow in the early hours of the across NCR.

Scientists at India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded visibility at Palam plummeting below 200 metres by 5.30am.

In the next half-an-hour, it dropped even further, touching zero by 6am, where it remained for two hours. It finally started improving around 8am, IMD officials said.

Under IMD's classification, visibility below 200 metres is considered as "dense" fog, and below 50 metres is considered "very dense" fog.

RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD, said that at the airport, CAT 2 and CAT 3 procedures were initiated, allowing planes to operate during low visibility.

Delhi had experienced dense fog on Wednesday as well, with visibility dropping to 100 metres. IMD issued a yellow alert for Friday and Saturday, forecasting moderate fog during early mornings and late evenings.