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Fog In Delhi




Fog develops as a thick cover in the mornings during the winter season in Delhi and it causes serious discomfort to drivers of all types of vehicles as the visibility is very poor. One can witness a huge line of vehicles on road honking and creating the most messy traffic scene ever in the country as fog disrupts the normal life of businessmen, office goers, students etc. Even superfast trains slow down their speed to a great extent during foggy seasons to reduce the probability of accidents. Hundreds of thousands of tourists and travellers are left clueless in the local and international airports as the flights that they were due to travel either gets cancelled or rescheduled. Delhi is currently experiencing fog that is ten times higher than what it was about fifty years ago.

A study conducted by the researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi proved that the extreme foggy conditions in Delhi are because of the high degree of air pollution in the city. The air gets mixed with large numbers of aerosol concentrations which is emitted by the huge industries and automobiles. When the temperature falls down and humidity percentage increases, these aerosols result in the formation of fog.

The dense fog all over the city has a direct impact on the concentrated consistency of RSPM (respirable suspended particulate matter) and it also forms the main reason behind the increased pollution in the vast Gangetic region. This region which has a large amount of fertile, cultivated lands and is thickly inhabited is now prone to toxic sulphur, nitrogen and carbon in its natural resources like water and air. Industries and automobiles that use fossil fuel and residential apartments and irrigation techniques that burn biomass are some of the major reasons for this pollution. The entire area of the Gangetic and Himalayan plains was found to be covered with a thick layer of toxic aerosols by satellites.

The extensive irrigation facilities that are set up in the city to connect various canals also contribute to the dense fog of the place.

Hardships and Economic Loss

Though fog has always been disrupting normal life in Delhi by throwing transport out of control, creating huge traffic snarls on roads, increasing the power bills of the state, denying visibility to the drivers thereby causing more accidents, depriving crops of sunlight etc. it is also guilty of one big crime, that is, causing a deep and unfavourable impact on the nation’s economy. Every year, during the foggy season, it causes immense losses for the Government. Scientists who specialise in air and water pollution have been bewildered at the increasing rate of fog in the city and the extended duration for which it stays in the city. As the population of the place keeps growing with every single day, there are too many people fighting for too little basic resources like rice. The green lands are vanishing too soon. These play a very important role in the dense formation of fog in the recent past. One section of scientists who specialise in analysing the effects of agriculture, believes that the age old tradition of irrigation networks, techniques used in planting new trees and the steps taken to improve the green lands and forest areas of the city might be some of the in-the-dark reasons for the thick fog in the city.

Fog Facts

Fog is smoky layer formed in the air when it is mixed with lots of toxic pollutants like particulate matter. Humidity is very high during foggy seasons. The worst affected places with dense fog are Delhi and Gurgaon, as the pollutants level in these places are well beyond the threshold limits. As more and more vehicles consume diesel and fossil fuel and as the number of industries keep emitting toxic gases and burn plastic and rubber for their usage, the fog content in the city keeps in increasing over the years.

Fog Hazards

  • Most of the local and international flights get rescheduled or cancelled.
  • Trains too experience severe delays and cancellations, leaving millions of commuters clueless.
  • Drivers of vehicles find it quite difficult to drive in the fog, as the visibility is almost zero at times.
  • Traffic starts piling up during foggy seasons and the probability of accidents are very high as there is very minimum visibility.

To Cope With The Fog Season

  • The first half and the fag end of January are most affected by dense fog in Delhi.
  • While travelling to or from Delhi, passengers must refrain from choosing the time slot between 4AM and 10AM in the morning and after 10PM in the night.
  • Though as a passenger, you have given your contact number to your travel agent, always ensure that you provide the same to the airline staff as well as they will immediately intimate you through a message if your flight is rescheduled or cancelled.
  • After the bomb threat at the Detroit Airport, security has been beefed up everywhere; therefore ensure that you reach well ahead of your flight departure time at the Delhi airport.
  • Do not panic and keep calling the helpline desks of your airline continuously. You will end up waiting for a long time before your call gets connected to an official.
  • You might have to wait for long periods of time in the event of rescheduling your flight. Therefore be prepared and take some books with you so that you don’t end up feeling bored of waiting.
  • Keep enough cash in small denominations to buy refreshments at the snack counters.
  • You have to be relaxed and be rest assured that your airline will accommodate you in the next soonest option available.
  • While travelling with kids, carry some toys, colouring books, story books etc. to engage the kids, as it is not wise to depend on the play area that is found at Terminal 1D.
  • Delays or rescheduling of flights in Delhi will have an impact all over the country as Delhi is a major and one of the most important cities of the country.
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