Fog Continues to Disrupt Life and Travel in Parts of Northern India

Dense fog blanketed most parts of north India on Sunday, causing disruptions in air, rail, and road traffic, with little respite in sight in the near future as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of the persistence of similar conditions until January 9.

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NEW DELHI:

Dense to very dense fog conditions were reported in isolated pockets of Jammu and Kashmir, northwest Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bihar, the IMD said.

The thick layer of fog caused disruptions in air traffic in Srinagar and Delhi, with officials saying that all flights were canceled at Srinagar Airport, while several morning flights were rescheduled at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital due to poor visibility. "All flights were canceled for the day due to bad weather. The visibility was as low as 50m," a Srinagar airport official said, requesting anonymity, adding that flight operations have been severely affected by dense fog since Friday.

Officials also said that rail services were heavily affected due to fog, with at least 51 trains running late at various railway stations in Delhi.

In Chandigarh, authorities announced changes in timings for government, aided, and recognized private schools amid the ongoing cold spell. As per the order issued by the Union territory's administration, classes in physical mode were suspended for students up to class 8, with online classes starting at 9 a.m. For classes 9-12, physical classes would start at 9:30 a.m. and conclude by 3:30 p.m.