21 Delhi-bound trains delayed due to dense fog in north India

As many as 21 Delhi-bound trains were delayed on Friday due to intense fog in several regions of northern India, railway officials said. A senior official said that 21 trains were running late by over two to six hours. Given below are the details of trains that have been delayed as a result of dense fog in northern regions. On Thursday, at least 25 Delhi-bound trains were delayed due to fog.

• Jabalpur-New Delhi Mahakaushal Express, delayed by six hours.
• Rewa-Anand Vihar Express, delayed by over four hours and 15 minutes
• Katihar-Amritsar Express which was running behind schedule, delayed by over three hours and 30 minutes
• Malda-New Delhi Farakka Express, delayed by over three hours and 45 minutes.
• Gaya-New Delhi Mahabodhi Express, running late by three hours and 30 minutes
• Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express, delayed by two
• Chennai-New Delhi Tamil Nadu Express was also delayed by two hours.

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Delhi temperature falls at 6 degrees

Delhi witnessed a cold Christmas, with the minimum temperature dipping to 6 degrees Celsius, the weather department informed on Wednesday. The capital witnessed moderate to dense fog in the morning hours. The maximum temperature was noted at 12.7 degrees Celsius, nine notches below normal, officials notified.

The Met department has said that a cold wave is likely to hit Delhi as the mercury is expected to drop to 4 degrees Celsius over the weekend. Since December 16, the national capital region has registered nine cold days, equal to that recorded in 2003. The city last recorded a maximum of 17 cold days in December 1997.

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According to Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department's regional forecasting centre, a "cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 notches below the normal. A "severe cold day" is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 degrees Celsius below the normal, he said. The government's air quality monitoring and forecasting service SAFAR said an extended period of calm surface winds with high humidity is predicted December 27 onwards, which will have an adverse effect on the air quality. 

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(With inputs from IANS)