Dense fog envelops sky, mercury rises to 9.9 degrees

New Delhi, Dec 27 (UNI) After normal visibility levels over the last three days, dense fog enveloped the Delhi skyline this morning, leading to a sharp reduction in visibility in the capital during the morning hours.

Visibility levels plummeted to below 100 m in the morning, leading to the cancellation of more than 17 flights including an international one while 31 others were diverted at the IGI airport.

The dense fog also caused traffic jams in several parts of the city.

The visibility levels, however, improved by 1030 hrs as a result of which normal flight operations resumed.

Meanwhile, the chill in the air continued even though the minimum temperature today rose sharply to 9.9 degrees Celsius, which is three degrees above normal. However, cold Easterly winds maintained a chill in the air.

The chill could intensify in the coming days with the weatherman forecasting a sharp fall in night temperature in the next few days due to fresh snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttaranchal and rainfall in Punjab, Haryana and parts of the national capital during the past 24 hours under the influence of a Western disturbance.

The Weatherman has forecast a drop in night temperature to 7 degrees C tomorrow. Friday and Saturday could witness a further fall in night temperature to 5 degrees C.

The forecast also predicts fog and mist tomorrow morning and a mainly clear sky afterwards.

UNI AR YA GC1304