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Fog smothers Delhi, 50 flights disrupted
February 24, 2014, 7:20 am

 

Fog is common in northern India only during the winter months of December and January [Getty Images]

Fog is common in northern India only during the winter months of December and January [Getty Images]

A heavy fog shrouding New Delhi caused widespread flight cancellations with over 50 domestic and international flights from the Indian capital being affected after visibility dropped due to dense fog on Monday morning.

Operations at the IGI Airport in New Delhi virtually came to a standstill today with some flights being diverted to the capital city of Jaipur in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

Fog is common in northern India only during the winter months of December and January.

Fog started to descend on the airport early this morning and become dense after 5:30 AM.

The runway visibility on all the three runways of the airport dropped to less than 100 metres, due to which no flight could take off, officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi said.

The minimum runway visual range for an aircraft to take off, depending upon its size, is 125 metres and 150 metres.

Levels of air pollution in New Delhi also hit a new high this winter. The Indian capital city has beaten the smog-filled skies of Beijing, show new environmental indicators according to a new study by New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

The report says while PM10 levels in Beijing have decreased by about 40 per cent from 2000 to 2013, in New Delhi it has increased by about 47 per cent from 2000 to 2011. PM10 levels in Delhi are nearly double that of Beijing.

 

TBP and Agencies