Dense fog blankets Indian capital, adjoining states, disrupting transport

People ride motorcycles in dense fog in Amritsar, Punjab state, India, on Dec. 19, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)

Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and parts of Uttar Pradesh have seen dense fog engulfing the areas for days.

NEW DELHI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Dense blanket of fog covered the Indian capital city Delhi and adjoining states Tuesday, leading to disruptions in rail and road transport, officials said.

The fog caused zero visibility impacting the traffic. On the roads in the capital, the vehicular traffic was plying slowly because of the poor visibility and drivers were seen driving with emergency lights on.

Reports pouring in from adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and parts of Uttar Pradesh said dense fog engulfed the areas for the second consecutive morning.

A local media report said no flight landed or took off from the airport in Chandigarh due to poor visibility conditions on Tuesday morning.

Railway officials said Tuesday that 11 trains were reported running late by one to five hours due to the drop in visibility.

A vegetable vendor rides his horse cart amid heavy fog on a cold morning in Amritsar district of India's northern Punjab state, December 19, 2022. (str/xinhua)

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cities affected by low visibility amid dense fog on Tuesday include Bathinda, Patiala and Amritsar in Punjab, Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Ambala in Haryana, Patna, Gaya and Purnea in Bihar and Kolkata in West Bengal. Delhi's Palam and Safdarjung were also included in the list by the IMD.

Meanwhile, dense fog in the night and morning hours is likely to continue over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh during the next four days.

The air quality in the national capital has fallen to the "very poor" category Tuesday morning.

Air pollution continues to worsen in Delhi and it gets aggravated during winter months. The deterioration in air quality is attributed to slow wind speed and stubble burning (farm fires) in the neighboring states.

Delhi is among the topmost polluted cities in the world.