Fog grips national capital; 49 trains delayed, 18 cancelled due to low visibility

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Delhi on Saturday woke up to a foggy morning with minimum temperature at 6 degrees & maximum at 21 degrees.

Over 49 trains were running late, 13 rescheduled and 18 cancelled due to low visibility in Delhi on Saturday morning, railway officials said. However, no flights have been delayed, airport authorities maintained.

The city continued to reel under extreme cold on Friday, with experts claiming that the situation was all set to worsen as the mercury will plummet further in the next few days. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 18 degrees Celsius, departure of one degree from normal, on Friday.

This was two degrees above the minimum temperature recorded on Thursday. At five degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, Thursday was the coldest day of the season till now. The maximum temperature settled at 20.3 degrees Celsius on the day. Earlier, January 1 was the coldest day of this winter, at 5.7 degrees Celsius as minimum temperature.

Icy winds coupled with fog made matters worse for Delhiites, who enjoyed considerably warm Christmas this season, when the maximum temperature touched 25.4 degrees Celsius. Delhi, however, welcomed the New Year with chilly weather as mercury dropped steadily from the first day of 2018.

According to the weather department, minimum and maximum temperature over the weekend will remain the same as Friday. It will, however, come down starting Monday, when the minimum temperature is likely to be 6 degrees Celsius. The maximum will, in the meantime, remain 18 degrees Celsius only.

Cold weather has affected daily life as people have been forced to stay indoors for most part of the day. Talking to DNA, Akriti Sahay, a resident of Kailash Colony, said: “There is no sun and the wind is piercingly cold. It is so difficult to step out, even during the day. I keep myself wrapped in layers of woollens but to no effect.”

Starting Monday, the Capital will also have some respite from the fog that had brought visibility down to almost zero, affecting rail and air services.