Delhi's dense fog disrupts IndiGo, SpiceJet flights; IMD issues red alert as visibility plunges 100 metre at IGI airport

Delhi weather today: Delhi residents woke up to low visibility as dense fog enveloped the city on Tuesday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange and red alert for parts of Delhi.

IMD in its nowcast warning valid till 9:33 AM stated: “Very Dense Fog very likely over parts of South East Delhi, East Delhi, Shahadra, Central Delhi, North East Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi, South West Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi, North Delhi.”

Besides this red alert an orange alert was issued for several other locations: “Dense Fog very likely over parts of South East Delhi, Central Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi, South West Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi, North Delhi.”

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport registered 100 metre visibility at 7:00 AM dueto which operations under CAT III conditions were invoked. Delhi Airport warned of possible delays in its passenger advisory posted on X, which stated, “Due to dense fog, flight operations are currently under CAT I1| conditions, which may cause delays. Passengers are requested to contact their respective airlines for the latest flight information or visit our official website.”

SpiceJet in its travel advisory stated, “Due to bad weather in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may be affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via http://spicejet.com/#status.”

IndiGo also issued a travel advisory as it warned of impact on flight schedules. “Low visibility and fog over #Delhi may impact flight schedules. We are closely monitoring the weather and doing our best to get you where you need to be, safely and smoothly. We request that you stay updated on your flight status via our website or app. Please be assured that our teams are here to assist you at every step and provide full support,” the advisory said.

Delhi weather today

The weather office had issued a yellow alert for dense fog in its weather bulletin dated 2 February and predicted, “Partly cloudy sky. Shallow to moderate fog at many places with dense fog at isolated places during morning hours.”

According to the press release, the maximum temperature over Delhi is likely to settle in the range of 20 to 22 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is likely to hover anywhere between 7 and 9 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature will near normal and the maximum temperatures will below normal (-1.6°C to -3.0°C) over Delhi, IMD said.