More than 100 flights delayed as dense fog blankets Indian capital

More than 150 flights were delayed as dense smog engulfed Delhi on Friday and reduced visibility to almost zero in parts of the Indian capital.

At least 26 trains were also delayed as the city’s air quality deteriorated to “severe” category, with the Air Quality Index reading 409.

The Indian capital battles smog, a toxic mix of pollutants and fog, every winter as cold air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from farm fires in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.

According to aviation tracker FlightRadar24, flight delays at the Delhi airport on Friday averaged 41 minutes.

Budget airline IndiGo issued a travel advisory and expressed regret over the delay in flights departing and arriving due to reduced visibility.

"Poor visibility due to dense fog is having an impact on flight operations in Delhi and some cities in north India today," Air India said.

The Regional Weather Forecasting Center in Delhi had issued a yellow alert for moderate to dense fog in the morning and shallow fog in the evening.

The Indian Meteorological Department issued a moderate to very dense fog warning for most of northern India, including Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The National Capital Region witnessed the worst fog this winter between 2 and 3 January, when visibility was reduced to zero for an unprecedented duration of nine hours.

Delhi recorded a temperature of 9.6C Friday morning, with the met department forecasting the minimum temperature in the city to be around 6C.

The year just gone was marked by particularly severe air pollution in Delhi, with 17 days classified as having a “severe” AQI of over 400, the most since 2022.