New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS): Delhiites braved another chilly morning Thursday as the minimum temperature dipped to 4.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below the average for the season, and commuters struggled their way through thick fog that affected flights and trains.
"The maximum temperature is likely to stay around 17 degrees," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS. The maximum temperature Wednesday was 15.5 degrees -- five notches below the average -- and minimum settled at 5.6 degrees.
While the met department forecast clear skies in the day, thick fog early morning continued to hit train and flight services, causing delays of several hours.
Trains to Allahabad, Lucknow and other parts of Uttar Pradesh were delayed by two to six hours. "Fifty trains have been delayed by 2 to 6 hours. Nearly 27 trains have been cancelled due to fog," an official from Northern Railways told IANS.
The situation at the airport was no different as harried passengers waited for hours for some news. According to an airport official, 20 flights were delayed while 10 had been cancelled.
"My flight was scheduled to depart at 8 a.m. It has been more than two hours but till now there is no information on when it is expected to take off," said Manju Agarwal, a passenger at the Delhi airport waiting for her flight to Hyderabad.
Airport authorities said services were expected to resume by 11 a.m.