Thick Fog Blankets Delhi as Visibility Reaches Zero

The months of the winter season normally shroud parts of India, especially the north, in layers of thick fog. The air pollution in the nation's capital mixes with this to form noxious smog -- even towards the end of January.

New Delhi has found itself enveloped in a dense layer of fog – so much so – that the visibility in certain parts of the Indian capital has fallen to zero.

Coupled with other operational issues, the fog in and around the city has resulted in the delay of 17 trains, railway officials have confirmed to the media.

Presently, Delhi is choking due to "very poor" air quality, with the overall air quality index (AQI) standing at 321.

Visibility recorded at 2330 IST of 22.01.2021 (less than 200 metre):
Agra- 0 m; Sultanpur, Varanasi and Bhagalpur-50 m each; Delhi (Palam), Bahraich and Bhagalpur-200 m each. @ndmaindia pic.twitter.com/ADbHkGXj9c

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) January 22, 2021

Last few rides in Edwin Lutyens' Delhi...
Visibility level: 🥶 pic.twitter.com/cZ7iW9cW2r

— Anisha Dutta (@A2D2_) January 24, 2021

Usually, the smog situation begins troubling the capital starting in November, when farmers from the neighbouring agricultural states of Punjab and Haryana begin burning their post-harvest farm waste, called stubble.

Following November, the cold winds coming from the Himalayan region bring the foggy climate with them in heavily populated Delhi.

Earlier this week, some researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras stated that the burning of plastic could be a major cause of Delhi’s lasting smog problem.