Delhi reels under shivering cold wave, dense fog; Air quality dips to 'very poor'

New Delhi, Jan 13: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that the national capital recorded 4.6 degrees Celsius and 3.2 degrees Celsius respectively at Palam and Safdarjung. Dense fog enveloped the city, resulting in very low visibility in several areas. Owing to this, the Delhi Airport initiated low visibility procedures.

Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Airport said, "Low visibility procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are currently normal. For further assistance, please get in touch with the airline concerned. Any inconvenience is deeply regretted."

Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital too took a plunge and was reported 'very poor' by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

The weather department on Tuesday issued an orange alert for the northern plains, which are also forecast to witness foggy conditions. A large part of the country is set to face intense cold conditions over the next few days, it said.

In the South, meanwhile, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Karaikal over the next two-three days, the India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin.

It said the minimum temperatures are very likely to fall by 2-5 degrees Celsius over most parts of East India, Central India over the next two-three days, while the spell of intense cold can extend beyond that in the Northwest part of the country.

With temperatures falling, an orange alert was issued by the IMD for the northern plains with a forecast of a cold wave for the next four days. A similar alert has been sounded for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with a forecast of heavy rains.