Around 450 flights were delayed on Tuesday at Indira Gandhi International Airport here as a dense layer of fog covered the city in the morning and reduced visibility to under 50 metres in some parts, including Palam.
According to aircraft tracking website flightradar24, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., nearly 160 flights arriving at the airport and 290 departing from it were delayed.
Five flights were diverted to the nearby Jaipur airport.
In a statement, Delhi International Airport Ltd. said the flights not compliant with the CAT III navigation technology may be affected.
The city’s maximum temperature was three degrees above the season’s normal at 23.8 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was one notch below the normal at 7 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Fog is categorised as ‘dense’ when the visibility is between 50-200 metres and ‘very dense’ when it falls below 50 metres. Dense to very dense fog is likely to continue over the north-west and adjoining parts of central India for the next 3-4 days, said the IMD.
Meanwhile, the city’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 377 in the ‘very poor’ category, better than 383 seen a day earlier. It is likely to deteriorate to the ‘severe’ category over the next three days, showed Central Pollution Control Board data. An AQI reading between 301 and 400 is considered ‘very poor’ and 401 and 450 ‘severe’.
