Delhiites start new year amid dense fog and biting cold

Since Christmas evening, Delhi has been witnessing dense fog coupled with poor air quality making visibility low. The fog and icy wind together kept the temperature below 20 degrees Celsius on the first three days of 2024. 

“The dense fog condition in Delhi is likely to prevail for the next few days,” says Naresh Kumar, an Indian Meteorological Department official.

On the cold wave in the city, he said, “Delhi and most of the northern region are likely to witness cold days for the next few days. One of the reasons for cold days in Delhi is the dense fog, which has formed a thick layer, preventing sunlight.”

According to IMD, when the minimum temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature is lower than the normal by 4.5 degrees or more, it is called a cold day. 

Delhi experienced dense fog with a recorded minimum temperature of 7.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning. 

However, there was a slight improvement in visibility near the IGI Airport — visibility was reduced to 400 metres in moderate fog from midnight on January 3, 2024. It is expected to improve to 800 metres in shallow fog.

According to the IMD, ‘very dense’ fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, ‘dense’ fog when it is between 51 and 200 metres, ‘moderate’ when it is between 201 and 500 metres, and ‘shallow’ when visibility is between 501 and 1,000 metres.

However, despite the cold conditions, many iconic monuments of Delhi saw tourists and visitors. 

Jagdeep Singh, who photographs tourists near India Gate, said, “The work has taken a hit because of the cold. But some tourists, especially young people, still come early in the morning to get photographed with India Gate in the background in foggy weather.”