Overview
- IMD issued a yellow alert for cold-wave conditions and a nowcast warning for very dense fog, with IGI Airport visibility dropping to 50–200 metres in the early hours.
- Delhi airport warned of delays under CAT III low-visibility procedures, with airlines issuing passenger advisories; Chandigarh canceled 22 flights on Wednesday due to fog.
- Rail operations slowed across the region, including five cancellations and widespread delays reported from Ludhiana, and officials in Jammu noted multi-hour late arrivals.
- Minimum temperatures stayed sharply below normal: Delhi Safdarjung 3.8°C, Gurugram 3.5°C, Hisar 0.5°C, and sub-zero readings across Kashmir during Chilla-i-Kalan; Chandigarh logged a 13-year low daytime high of 8.9°C.
- Air quality remained at the higher end of ‘very poor’ in Delhi-NCR, with citywide AQI near 353–356 and several stations breaching 400, and forecasts indicating persistence into next week.