Rains give respite from fog, but rail services affected

NEW DELHI - The capital witnessed light rainfall early Tuesday, adding to the chill. It helped ease heavy fog conditions as also flight operations at the Delhi airport, but rail services continued to be hit with 50 trains affected.

“There is a western disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir, because of which Delhi witnessed light rainfall this (Tuesday) morning,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS.

“The skies will remain cloudy through the day with a possibility of more rain in the later part. There will be more rains till Dec 31,” he said.

With the rain, the intense fog conditions eased and improved visibility, the official added.

Flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport were normal as the visibility levels were better than the last three days when many international and domestic flights were either diverted or cancelled, an airport official said.

However, rail services from and to the capital city remained disrupted.

According to a railway spokesperson, 50 trains were affected by the fog and the Gujjar stir in Bayana in Rajasthan. Of these, six trains were re-scheduled and nine, including the Janta Express, the Ujjain Express and the Janshatabdi, were cancelled.

Thirty-five trains, including the Katihar Express, the Golden Temple Express and the Rajdhani coming from Jammu Tavi were delayed between two hours to 52 hours. The Garib Rath coming from Bandra in Mumbai was delayed by 52 hours.

The minimum temperature in the city recorded early morning was a notch above average at 7.9 degrees Celsius. The maximum is expected to hover around 20 degrees.