Cold wave and fog cause chaos in northern India
Parts of northern India are experiencing a severe, prolonged cold wave that has thrown normal life out of gear. Dense fog has delayed more than a hundred flights and dozens of trains, causing chaos at airports and railway stations.
Authorities in capital city Delhi have asked schools to extend winter holidays and cancelled classes.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport in the Indian capital asked flyers to contact their airlines for updates on flights. data from private flight trackers showed several flights had been delayed.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast 'dense to very dense fog conditions' over many parts of Delhi and northern and eastern states, such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, until Tuesday.
It warned that air, road and train traffic could be affected in the two days and people could suffer from lung-related health problems. It also said power lines could trip in areas with dense fog.
Delhi, a city of 20 million people, has already extended winter holidays for many schools by a week. Many private schools were to reopen on Monday.
The city recorded a minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius on Monday. The lowest for Sunday was 3.8 degrees Celsius, which the IMD said was 3 degrees below normal for this time of year.
A cold wave is declared in the plains of India when the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius or falls 4.5 degrees below normal to 10 degrees Celsius or below.
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