As many as 21 flights were delayed in Delhi and 12 trains were running late in the Northern Railway region in the wake of heavy fog conditions. Two trains were rescheduled. Moreover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's flight could not land in Agartala due to poor visibility caused by thick fog on Wednesday.

12 trains running late and 2 trains rescheduled in the Northern Railway region due to fog

(Pic shared by CPRO Northern Railway) pic.twitter.com/B1oCDIwwkx— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2023

The Delhi airport had earlier issued fog alert for passengers, requesting them to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Here's a look at visibilities reported at 5:30 am in other states and UT:

(Note: As per IMD, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is dense, 201 and 500 moderate, and 501 and 1,000 shallow)

Jammu & Kashmir: 25

Punjab: Bhatinda 0; Amritsar, Patiala 25

Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi: Ambala & Chandigarh, Palam 25 each; Safadarjung 50

Uttarakhand: Dehradun 200

Ganganagar and Churu in Rajasthan: 25

Uttar Pradesh:Agra 0; Jhansi 50; Bareilly 200

Patna, Bihar: 25

Siliguri, West Bengal: 100

Madhya Pradesh: Gwalior 25, Satna 50; Sagar and Jabalpur 200

North Chhattisgarh: Ambikapur 50,

Tripura: Kailashahar and Agartala 50

Severe cold wave alert in these states today:

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in Delhi, predicting severe cold wave conditions in the national capital on Thursday. The Delhi weather department forecast "mainly clear sky. Moderate to dense fog in the morning. Cold wave conditions at many places."

In the morning, Lodhi Road in Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 2.8°C on Thursday — Delhi's lowest in this season, while the Safdarjung area saw freezing at 3°C, the IMD said.

Not just Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh too have been reeling under cold wave conditions. While an orange was issued in Delhi, red alert has been sounded in Punjab and Haryana. Areas where a severe cold wave is likely include Gurdaspur, Tarn Tarn, Mansa, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Firozpur in Punjab. And in Haryana, districts including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal and Jhajjar are likely to witness chilly weather.

Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh reported a steady dip in mercury levels in areas including Narkanda, Kufri and Chamba - prompting several locals to go under several layers of woollens while many huddled around bonfires as the intense cold wave continued sweeping through the hill-state. Locals, especially labourers, found it difficult to go about their chores in the freezing cold.

Dalhousie, a popular tourist haunt in Chamba district, was also in the grip of an icy chill at 1.7 degree Celsius. Over the last 24 hours, Keylong in the Lahaul-Spiti district recorded the lowest temperature at the state at -11 degree Celsius while Kukumseri, in the same district, saw the mercury settling at -10 degree Celsius. Kalpa in Kinnaur district froze at -4.2 degree Celsius while Manali was at -2.2 degree Celsius.

(With inputs from agencies)

First Published:Jan 5, 2023 8:08 AM IST