Air travel at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport faced major disruption on Friday as heavy fog engulfed the capital and nearby regions, sharply reducing visibility. Airport sources said a total of 152 flights were scheduled to be cancelled through the day, including 79 outbound and 73 inbound services.

The airport has been operating under low-visibility CAT III conditions, resulting in cascading delays. Authorities have been issuing frequent advisories on social media, advising passengers to stay in touch with airlines for real-time updates. Leading carriers such as IndiGo and Air India also cautioned travellers that poor weather could affect flight schedules.

Alongside flight disruptions, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated again, with the Air Quality Index slipping to 380—close to the ‘severe’ category. Earlier in the day, the AQI stood at 387, with more than a third of the city’s monitoring stations recording readings above 400.

Visibility across Delhi-NCR, including Noida and Ghaziabad, dropped to under 100 metres in several areas. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert, warning of dense fog conditions during the morning hours.

The capital also experienced its coldest day of December so far on Thursday, with the maximum temperature settling at 20.1°C, noticeably below the seasonal average. Despite this, Delhi has not yet seen an official cold wave this winter. The minimum temperature stood at 9°C, slightly above normal levels.

Similar weather conditions prevailed across other parts of north India. In Uttar Pradesh, authorities issued fog alerts for the next two days. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to take preventive measures against road accidents, leading to the enforcement of speed limits across the state. Vehicles exceeding the prescribed limits will face penalties.

According to the IMD, Delhi may see brief improvement in visibility on Saturday, but dense fog is expected to return on Sunday and Monday. The weather office has forecast stable minimum temperatures across northwest India over the next 24 hours, followed by a gradual rise of 2 to 4 degrees Celsius in the coming days.