According to our meteorologists, easterly winds are reaching up to Rajasthan and bringing in lots of moisture in the region. Due to low surface temperatures in the region, the warmer easterly winds tend to condense faster thus intensifying the fog from dense to very dense. However, fog is not expected to be as dense as it was on Thursday morning but it will still be enough to affect air and rail traffic during the next 24 hours.
Our meteorologists further explain that due to the Western Disturbance and its associated cyclonic circulation in the plains, precipitation would reduce the moisture due to which fog will be less on the on Sunday and Monday. But once the weather system in the Western Himalayan region moves away, it will leave enough moisture for fog to resume in Delhi and adjoining areas from Monday night onwards.
On Thursday, a thick blanket of fog was witnessed in Delhi and other parts of northwest plains which reduced the visibility to nil at many places. The Indira Gandhi International Airport was experiencing nil visibility and at least 16 domestic and four international flights were affected. 9 flights mostly to the eastern parts of the country including Allahabad and Varanasi were cancelled till 2:30 pm.
Photograph by Devendra Tripathi