Delhi has experienced thick fog this week. (Express photo: Abhinav Saha)Delhi-NCR witnessed light rain early Sunday morning bringing down the temperature to 7 degrees Celcius. A blanket of fog descended over the region, making the day cold.
The city recorded its lowest pollution level of the year on Sunday after a spell of rain but the air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was 397 and thirty-one areas in the national Capital recorded ‘very poor’ air quality, while it was ‘poor’ in two areas, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The AQI has been oscillating between the upper range of the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ category for the past two weeks.
Over 320 trains cancelled due to fog
Over 320 trains were cancelled and 129 were partially cancelled on the first Sunday of 2019 as visibility dropped due to the fog in the capital. Flight operations have not been affected.
Multiple trains were delayed, including Doon Express from Dehradun to Howrah, which was delayed by nearly 7 hours, DBG-ASR Jannayak Express from Darbhanga to Amritsar, which was over 9 hours late, GangaSatluj Express, from Firozpur to Dhanbad, which was running nearly 10 hours late and Avadh Assam Express, from Lalgarh to Dibrugarh, which was over 7 hours late.
Multiple trains were delayed, including Doon Express from Dehradun to Howrah, which was delayed by nearly 7 hours. (File)Flight operations affected in Bengaluru
Meanwhile, nearly 50 flights scheduled this morning between 6 am and 9 am were delayed from the Bengaluru airport due to fog. Some flights were diverted to nearby airports, including Chennai, reported ANI. Two flights, originating in Singapore and Goa, were directed to Chennai.
On Sunday, Alwar in Rajasthan recorded the coldest temperature in the plains, with night temperatures settling at 5.4 degrees Celcius, according to SkymetWeather.
Snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh
Heavy rains and snowfall were also observed at a few places in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and will likely continue over the next 24 hours and decrease thereafter, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Mandhol village of Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla also received fresh snowfall Sunday morning. Isolated to scattered rainfall is also likely over parts of northwest India during the next 48 hours. Due to cloudy weather and prevailing surface winds, isolated places in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and northwest Uttar Pradesh are likely to see temperatures dip during the next 24 hours.
On Sunday, maximum temperatures were 3.1°C to 5.0°C higher at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, East Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Saurashtra, Kutch, Coastal Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It was 1.6°C to 3.0°C higher in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha and Marathwada, and in several places in Madhya Pradesh.
Heavy snowfall in Bandipora. (Express photo: Shuaib Masoodi)Incessant snowfall had disrupted vehicular and aerial connectivity to Kashmir from Friday to Saturday morning, cutting off the Valley from the rest of the country for nearly 24 hours. As many as 2,000 vehicles including load carriers were stranded along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The snowfall, which started on Friday afternoon, continued till Saturday morning in most parts of Kashmir. A weather department official in Srinagar said all of Kashmir received snowfall, with some parts recording heavy snowfall. Officials said around one foot of snow had accumulated at the Jawahar tunnel, which connects the Jammu region with the Valley.
Cyclone Pabuk to cross Andamans today
Light from cars is seen at a road without electricity as tropical storm Pabuk approaches the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, January 4, 2019. (REUTERS)On the other hand, cyclonic storm ‘Pabuk’ over the Andaman Sea has moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 20 kmph in the last six hours. The IMD stated, “It lay centred at 0530 hour IST of today, the 06th January 2019 over the Andaman Sea and neighbourhood near Latitude 11.0°N and Longitude 95.5 °E, about 310 km east-southeast of Port Blair. It is very likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and cross the Andaman Islands by tonight as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph. Thereafter, it is very likely to move north-northwestwards and then recurve northeastwards towards Myanmar coast and weaken gradually thereafter.”
