Dense fog shrouds Delhi, minimum temperature rises to 8.8 degrees Celsius
New
Delhi,
Jan
24:
A
thick
blanket
of
fog
shrouded
Delhi
on
Sunday,
lowering
visibility
to
100
metres
and
affecting
traffic
movement,
the
India
Meteorological
Department
(IMD)
said.
Dense
fog
reduced
visibility
to
200
metres
at
Safdarjung
and
100
metres
at
Palam.
According to the IMD, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres. In case of dense fog, visibility is between 51 and 200 metres, moderate 201 and 500 metres, and shallow 501 and 1,000 metres.
Dense to moderate fog is predicted in Delhi for the next four days, the IMD said.
The city''s minimum temperature, however, rose to 8.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, due to easterly winds and a cloud cover over the city, an IMD official said.
Easterly winds are not as cold as northwesterly coming in from the snow-clad western Himalayas, while clouds trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation, increasing the minimum temperature.
The mercury is predicted to drop to four degrees Celsius by Tuesday as dry, icy winds have started blowing from the snow-clad western Himalayas towards the plains, the IMD official said.