Chandigarh: Flights and trains were disrupted and a number of motorists were reportedly injured in a pile-up involving multiple vehicles triggered by thick fog that engulfed several parts of Haryana and Punjab on Thursday morning, affecting life in both states.
Visibility was reduced to less than 50 metres at a number of places in both states. The minimum temperature continued to dip at most places. It was recorded at 5.5 to 8 degrees at some places.
Flight operations were affected at the Chandigarh International airport and the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International airport in Amritsar.
The airport and other areas in and around Amritsar were engulfed with dense fog, affecting domestic and international flights.
The heavy mist blanketed the national capital on Thursday morning, affecting flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, with more than six international and seven domestic flights being delayed, and one domestic flight being cancelled.
The Indian Railways said that 94 trains were running late, two were cancelled and 16 rescheduled due to poor visibility.
“Two train services were cancelled, while 94 others were running behind schedule by several hours due to the dense fog cover,” a railway official told local media.
The visibility at Ambala and Karnal in Haryana and Amritsar and Patiala in Punjab was reported to be less than 50 metres.
Meanwhile, a 20-vehicle pile-up reportedly on the National Highway near Kurusherta due to dense fog led to a number of injuries, according to social and local media posts.
#Haryana: 20 vehicle pile-up on National Highway near #Kuruksherta due to fog, many reportedly injured pic.twitter.com/ATgRrIB65s— The Tribune (@thetribunechd) December 8, 2016
Heavy Fog Stretches To Punjab, Haryana https://t.co/vi59k2g7Bb pic.twitter.com/6bP3tergNv— Nishi (@TheNewsAddictor) December 8, 2016
Dense fog, unexpected chill greet Delhi-NCR, rest of northern India https://t.co/aJvidGTY2K pic.twitter.com/gsevxzRmF0— Vijay Sharma (@vijay_sharma86) December 8, 2016
Punjab's 553-km long international border was under the blanket of very thick fog with virtually zero visibility, a Border Security Force (BSF) official said in Amritsar.
Traffic movement on the busy National HIghway No. 1 (NH-1), which runs through Punjab and Haryana, connecting Amritsar with Delhi, was also affected due to the fog.
Dense fog was reported from several areas of the NH-1 between Ambala and Kundli border of Haryana and Delhi.
Other highways and roads were also affected by the fog cover.
Moderate to dense fog was reported from several parts of the national capital region (NCR) in Haryana comprising districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Jhajjar, Hisar, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal and Rohtak.
Railway officials said that some trains to and from Delhi and other destinations were delayed due to the fog.
In Punjab, fog was reported from Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Sangrur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts.
According to weathermen, the visibility dropped to 100 metres at 5..30am Thursday, before dropping further down to 50 metres a few hours later.
Relative humidity was recorded at 97 percent at 8.30am. Minimum temperature was recorded at 8.7 degrees Celsius, considered normal for the season.
