Light showers expected to intensify cold wave in Delhi

In the morning, dense fog enveloped Delhi and its surrounding areas, causing zero visibility and disrupting road, rail, and air travel. Later in the afternoon, light rain occurred in several areas, impacting the temperature.

The weather department forecasts rain on Thursday and predicts additional rainfall on January 31, February 1, and drizzling on February 3. The persistent morning fog in Delhi-NCR may dissipate due to the rain, marking the first rainfall in the region since November.
Hilly areas in Jammu and Kashmir experienced light snow during this period, while Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh may witness heavy snowfall in mountainous regions, affecting the plains of North India with a potential temperature drop.

Fog and low visibility severely affected rail, road, and air traffic. Over 20 trains to and from Delhi were delayed on Wednesday, including Vande Bharat, Rajdhani, Superfast, and mail express category trains. The Delhi airport issued an advisory, urging passengers to check with their airlines for updated flight information.

Air quality at many stations in Delhi was categorized as ‘very poor,’ and some stations fell into the ‘severe’ category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), at 8 AM in the Anand Vihar area, the PM 2.5 level was recorded at 390 in the ‘severe’ category, and the PM 10 level reached 300. At the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the PM 2.5 level was recorded at 333, and the PM 10 level was 205. In Dwarka, the PM 2.5 level was 390, and the PM 10 level was 270, both falling into the ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ categories, respectively.