Three international and five domestic flights were delayed early Thursday owing to dense fog in parts of North India. Several trains were also delayed. According to railway officials, Hyderabad-New Delhi Express, Kalka- Howrah Netaji express, Gaya- New Delhi Mahabodhi Express and Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express were running late by 1:30 hours.

"While Barauni to New Delhi Special, Ayodhya Cantt- Delhi Express, Rajgir- New Delhi Shramjeevi express, and Pratapgarh-new Delhi Padmavat Express were running late by 1:45 hours. The officials added that Raigarh- Nizamuddin express and Jabalpur Nizamuddin Express is late by 3:30 hours. While Lucknow-New Delhi Express, Raxaul- Anand Vihar Sadbhavna Express, Howrah- New Delhi Poorva Express and Muzaffarpur-Anand Vihar Express is late by 1:15 hours, 2:45 hours, 2:30 hours 2 hours respectively," ANI reported.

Meanwhile, some states are likely to experience a brief respite from the cold wave, with India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing no major warning for today. Around 9 am, the temperature in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab was recorded at around 10 degrees Celcius. The IMD predicted a "partly cloudy sky" in most parts of the national capital on Thursday.

In Punjab, a yellow alert has been sounded in several districts including Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Moga, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Fazilka, and Sanguru. In Uttarakhand, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar are on orange alert with the IMD predicting cold waves in these areas.

Besides, parts of Uttar Pradesh might witness foggy conditions in districts such as Sharanpur, Badaun, Sitapur, Gonda, Badaun, and Pilibhit.

On Wednesday, the minimum temperature settled at 5.2 degrees in Delhi, -1 degree Celcius in Uttarakhand's Ranichauri, 4 degrees Celcius in Haryana's Narnaul and 0.6 degrees in Rajasthan's Churu.

Skymet Weather Vice-President (Meteorology and Climate Change) Mahesh Palawat said coldwave conditions in northwest India abated on Wednesday under the influence of a fresh western disturbance. However, the relief is likely to be short-lived.

Weather experts said frigid north-westerly winds barrelling through the plains and reduced sunshine due to foggy weather had caused the spell of cold waves and below-normal day temperatures in northwest India.

A western disturbance led to a fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains on December 25-26 and cold northwesterly winds swept through the plains after its retreat. The wind chill factor -- a measure of the rate of heat loss from the skin that is exposed to the air -- was also high, they said.

First Published:Dec 29, 2022 10:17 AM IST