Red alert in Delhi as dense fog blankets north India

A thick layer of fog stretching from Punjab to Bihar reduced visibility across the Indo-Gangetic plains on Friday morning, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for Delhi and warning that road, rail and air traffic may be affected.

IMD officials said satellite imagery showed a dense fog cover over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, northeast Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday directed authorities to ensure visible improvement in air quality across Delhi-NCR within one week, amid continued concerns over persistently high pollution levels in the region.

At 5.30 am, visibility was recorded at zero metres in Agra, Bareilly, Saharanpur and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh; Ambala, Amritsar, Bathinda, Ludhiana and Adampur in Punjab; Safdarjung in Delhi; Ambala in Haryana; Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh; Bhagalpur in Bihar; and Daltonganj in Jharkhand.

The IMD issued a red alert for Delhi, warning that fog may disrupt operations at some airports and affect highways and railway routes.

An orange alert was issued for several districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Agra, Aligarh, Baghpat, Bareilly, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Etah, Etawah, Firozabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Hathras, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Rampur, Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur and Shamli.

Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand and Amritsar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Patiala and Sangrur in Punjab are also under an orange alert.

The IMD warned of difficult driving conditions and an increased risk of road accidents, adding that there is a possibility of power line tripping in affected areas.