Delhi: Cold wave, dense fog engulfs North India; trains delayed by 3-4 hours

Delhi: A punishing cold wave swept Delhi on Monday morning with the minimum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory, the city's base station, plunging to 1.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the month since January 1, 2021.

Temperature drops below two degrees Celcius

The weather station at Lodhi Road, where the India Meteorological Department (IMD) headquarter is located, recorded a minimum temperature of 1.6 degrees Celsius.

The IMD had earlier issued an orange warning for cold wave in Delhi till January 17-18.

Delhi saw an intense cold wave spell from January 5 to January 9, the second longest in the month in a decade, according to IMD data.

Trains delayed due to fog

Several trains in North India are delayed due to low visibility. Passengers at Kanpur station are distressed due to delay of trains. Several of them are complaining about trains delaying by 3-4 hours.

A passenger says, "My train is scheduled for 9 am but it is running 3 hours late. It is difficult during winters."

Fog prevails in North India

It has also recorded over 50 hours of dense fog this month so far, which is the highest since 2019.

In the plains, a cold wave is declared if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius or when it is 10 degrees Celsius and 4.5 notches below normal.

A severe cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure from the normal limits is by more than 6.4 notches.