delhi and the surrounding regions awoke to a dense blanket of fog this Christmas, significantly affecting visibility and leading to disruptions in flight schedules. The Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert, predicting dense fog during the early morning hours. Today's weather is expected to see maximum and minimum temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
At Safdarjung, the official weather station for delhi, the maximum temperature was noted at 8.4 degrees Celsius, slightly below the seasonal norm. In Palam, temperatures reached 9.6 degrees Celsius, which is considered normal for this time of year. Visibility was recorded at just 100 metres in both locations.
The delhi airport communicated via twitter that while both landings and takeoffs are ongoing, flights not equipped with CAT III compliance may face challenges. Passengers were advised to reach out to their respective airlines for the latest flight updates, and the airport expressed regret for any inconveniences experienced due to the fog conditions.
CAT III is a flight navigation system that enables aircraft to land safely even in low visibility conditions caused by heavy fog or adverse weather.
In a separate tweet posted at 1:40 am, the airport noted that low visibility procedures were being implemented and that flight operations were proceeding normally.
In terms of air quality, the air Quality Index (AQI) in delhi was measured at 334 at 6 am today, placing it in the 'very poor' category, although this figure improved from tuesday morning's reading of 398. Following rain that fell across various parts of delhi on tuesday evening, the AQI saw a slight decrease to 358, still within the 'very poor' range. As a result of this improvement in air quality, some GRAP-IV restrictions were lifted, including a halt on all construction activities.
Out of 37 monitoring stations, two—Mundka and Nehru Nagar—reported air quality in the 'severe' category, while 32 stations recorded 'very poor' air quality, with the remaining stations classified as 'poor'.
The AQI classifications are as follows: 0-50 is 'good', 51-100 is 'satisfactory', 101-200 is 'moderate', 201-300 is 'poor', 301-400 is 'very poor', and 401-500 is 'severe'.
Additionally, the maximum temperature stood at 20.8 degrees Celsius, which is warmer than typical for this season, accompanied by cloudy skies throughout the day. The minimum temperature was noted at 9.9 degrees Celsius, slightly above the average for this time of year.
Looking ahead, the weather office has forecasted another round of rain in delhi from december 26 to december 28.
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