Nasheman News :  Cold nights with temperature dropping to a low of 11 degrees Celsius continued in Bengaluru, with fog during early hours disrupting at least 50 flights, officials said on Saturday.

“The maximum temperature in the city over the last 24 hours was 29 degrees Celsius. Fog and mist was common during early morning hours in most areas,” the weather bulletin issued at 2 p.m. by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

While the minimum temperature in Bengaluru city was about 14 degrees Celsius, the recording at the Kempegowda International Airport Ltd (KIAL) on the outskirts stood at about 11 degrees Celsius.

Due to the fog, as many as 40 flights — 28 departures and 12 arrivals — were delayed, a statement from the airport operator Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said.

“A total of 10 flights were diverted to Chennai, Coimbatore and Hyderabad,” it said.

Fight operations were suspended at the airport from 7.04 a.m. to 8.51 a.m. owing to low visibility due to fog, the statement added.

Nasheman News :At least 10 trains were delayed and several flights diverted due to a dense fog cover over the national capital causing visibility to remain at zero for a few hours on Friday morning.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the visibility in Palam area dropped to zero between 4.30 a.m. and 6.30 a.m, and later remained less than 50 metres till 8.30 a.m. It only improved after 9.30 a.m. to 50 metres, the required range for an aircraft to land 

An Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) official told IANS that due to the low visibility, flight operations were badly affected between 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. . 

“At least five flights were diverted and departures were affected till 10 a.m.,” he said. 

Trains that were delayed due to the dense fog cover included the Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express (by over six hours), Gaya-New Delhi Mahabodhi Express and Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express which were both held-up by more than five hours. 

The minimum temperature in Delhi on Friday was recorded at 4.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, while the humidity level was 100 per cent.

The city will witness shallow to dense fog throughout the day, the Met said. 

The air quality in Delhi and adjoining areas turned ‘severe’ as the amount of moisture in the air prevented dispersal of particulate matters PM2.5 and PM10.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 411, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Thursday’s maximum temperature settled at 22.2 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average while the minimum was recorded at 4.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s average.

Nasheman News : The weather office on Friday said that heavy to very heavy snowfall will occur in the Kashmir Valley starting from Saturday.

Sonum Lotus, Director of the regional MET Office, said the snowfall will gradually become heavier and stronger in intensity till January 23rd.

Divisional administration have warned people not to move around in avalanche prone areas, store enough edibles and other essentials as both surface and air connectivity is likely to remain disrupted during this period.

Srinagar recorded minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam minus 10.3 and Gulmarg minus 10.0 as the minimum temperatures on Friday.

Leh and Kargil towns recorded minus 15.6 and minus 19.2 degrees Celsius.

Jammu city had 5.3 degrees Celsius, Katra 6.3, Batote 2.5, Bannihal 0.7 and Bhaderwah minus 0.8 as the night’s lowest temperatures.

While 35 flight arrivals were affected, 16 flight departures were delayed.

Fog during the early morning hours of Sunday in Bengaluru disrupted at least 52 flights at the city’s Kempegowda International Airport.

“As a result of the fog, departure of 35 flights and the arrival of another 16 flights was delayed,” the airport operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said in a statement.

One flight was diverted to Hyderabad due to the fog-related disruption, the statement added.

A visibility standby issued at the airport at 4:45 am was withdrawn over four hours later at 9:04 am. A standby like this is declared when the visibility at the airport decreases to below 2,500 metres.

The departure and arrival delays continued through the day at the airport.

The tech hub’s airport has an average of 300 departures and arrivals each on a daily basis.

The city recorded a maximum temperature of 28.8 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 14 degrees Celsius over the past 24 hours, according to the Bengaluru division of India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Dense fog has led to disruption in flights on several occasions this month. 

On January 7, one Indigo flight from Delhi to Bengaluru was diverted and the departures of 41 flights were delayed due to conditions of fog. Prior to that, 38 flights were delayed due to fog on January 6. 

In fact, conditions of fog caused delays at the Bengaluru International Airport on six of the first seven days of the year, as per airport authorities. This has inconvenienced thousands of passengers flying in and out of the airport, particularly in the morning.

This comes at a time when a cold wave is sweeping through the city with temperatures in parts of the city dropping to single digits, as per the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). 

Several airline companies took to social media to issue travel advisories to passengers in Bengaluru on Sunday, due to the weather conditions. 

Nasheman News : With air pollution reaching ‘severe’ levels every winter in the national capital, the Delhi government on Monday joined hands with the Washington University to monitor real-time air quality and identify pollution sources in the city for the next 18 months.

“Delhi government has signed a MoU with Washington University (St Louise) to undertake a real-time Source Apportionment Study in India’s national capital to evaluate the air quality issues,” an official statement released by Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain’s office said.

The MoU, it said, is aimed at a joint study to be undertaken by the Washington University and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for the real-time source apportionment with special reference to particulate matter (PM)2.5. 

“Analysis of elemental, organic carbon and 72 inorganic elements will also be undertaken under the study,” the statement said, adding that the work will be undertaken by the personnel of the Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory (AAQRL).

Under the study, two special monitors will be used to obtain the composition of PM2.5. “The data will help to understand the source profile which needs to be regulated for the effective improvement of air quality in the city,” Hussain’s office said.

Wireless sensors will also be deployed in the city to help monitor the real-time air quality and the source of pollution at select locations in the city.

“The real-time data will help policy developers to regulate and improve the air quality, whereas the state of art instrument demonstration will lead a path of capacity building development,” the statement said. 

Nasheman News : As Delhi continued to breathe toxic air for over 30 hours, the Supreme Court-appointed EPCA on Thursday issued directions to take urgent measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from Friday and stop the entry of trucks in the city for a day.

Delhi’s air quality was in the “very poor” category on Tuesday, before it deteriorated to “severe” on Wednesday as it was on Monday.

On Thursday, it remained in the “severe” zone with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 444 (severe), with PM2.5 and PM10 as major pollutants.

Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority Chairman (EPCA) Bhure Lal in his letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev said that in case the situation does not improve by Friday morning, entry of trucks into Delhi (except essential commodities) may be stopped.

“The enforcement of this direction requires coordination of all NCR states and you are therefore requested to take steps to ensure that this happens. Also, the opening of the Eastern and Western Expressways will make this easier to implement as the tracks that are not destined for Delhi now have convenient alternatives to take,” the EPCA head said.

The pollution control authority, as per the recommendations made by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Task Force, has also directed to issue public notice asking people to minimise use of personal vehicles and avoid prolonged exposure because of unhealthy air.

The task force has also recommended that measures which are already in force “must continue with intensified action by implementing agencies, particularly with regard to traffic congestion, open burning of waste and industrial emissions”.

The “severe-plus” condition that has prevailed in the national capital for more than 30 hours saw PM2.5 levels exceeding 300 microgrammes per cubic meter.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), currently, the wind speed is around 10 kmph and is likely to increase resulting in better dispersion. But a forecast of light scattered rain on January 5 evening and the night of January 6 might further deteriorate the air quality in the city.

Across 35 areas in Delhi where pollution is actively monitored, the average concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 was 359 and 530 microgrammes per cubic meter on Thursday at 9 p.m.

The concentration of the two pollutants across 48 monitoring stations in the NCR was 338 and 503.

The safe limit for PM2.5 is 60 units as per national standards and 25 units according to international standards. For PM10, up to 100 units is safe by national standards and 50 units by international standards.

Both PM2.5 and 10 get into the lungs and cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, but PM2.5 is more dangerous because it mixes with the blood stream.

According to the CPCB, if the quality gets worse and reaches the “very poor” level, a ban is imposed on the use of diesel generator sets, coal/ firewood in hotels and open eateries, parking fee increased 3-4 times, and bus and metro services are increased.

Also, under the GRAP, media organisations are alerted to advise people with respiratory and cardiac patients to avoid polluted areas and restrict outdoor movement.

The measures implemented when the level touches “severe” include closing of brick kilns, hot-mix plants, stone crushers, shutting down of the Badarpur power plant and maximising power generation from the existing natural gas-based plants.

When the pollution level dips to “severe+”, a ban is imposed on the entry of trucks, except those carrying essential commodities, into Delhi, and construction activities stopped.

Nasheman News :It was a cold Thursday morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature recorded at 6.7 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season’s average, the Met Office said.

“There was shallow to dense fog in the morning. The sky will remain mainly clear throughout the day with haze and smoke thereafter,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 23 degrees Celsius. The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 100 per cent.

Meanwhile, the pollution level remained ‘severe’ for the second consecutive day with the air quality index being at 492, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research. The major air pollutants were PM 2.5 and PM 10.

Wednesday’s maximum temperature settled at 23.4 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season’s average, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season’s average.

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Nasheman News : It was a cold Wednesday morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature recorded at 6.5 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season’s average, as Delhi continued to remain under ‘severe’ air pollution, Met officials said.

“There was shallow to moderate fog in the morning. The sky will remain mainly clear throughout the day with haze and smoke thereafter,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 23 degrees Celsius. The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 86 per cent.

Meanwhile, the pollution level went up to ‘severe’ from ‘very poor’ with the air quality index being at 432, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research. The major air pollutants were PM 2.5 and PM 10.

Tuesday’s maximum temperature settled at 23 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average, while the minimum temperature was recorded at four degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s average.

Nasheman News :  The Central government on Friday rushed an additional National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team to Meghalaya to assist the state in evacuating 15 miners who are trapped inside an illegal coal mine for 16 days now.

Coal India Limited (CIL) officials have rushed to the site in remote Ksan area in East Jaintia Hills district. A two-member team from Kirloskar Brothers’ Limited has already reached the site.

Indian Air Force (IAF) Spokesman Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said a C-130J Super Hercules has been tasked to airlift NDRF rescuers from Bhubaneswar to Guwahati on Friday.

“We have been to the mining site on Thursday and made preliminary assessment along with the NDRF team. We have discussed plans and strategies with the NDRF and State administration how to dewater from the pit,” N. Mahapatra of Kirloskar Brothers’ Limited, told media.

“We require a good number of powerful pumps to suck out the water and this has been informed to our senior officials,” he said.

CIL Director Technical Binay Dayal, who arrived in Shillong on Thursday and held discussions with district authorities, said that the first task is to try to get the map of the illegal coal mine.

“Our logistics and technical team are on the way to the mining site. We are hopeful that our powerful pumps reach the site soon. We have been told that several other agencies would also provide necessary assistance,” he said.

The district administration has temporarily suspended pumping of water from the coal pit since December 24. However, the NDRF rescuers team dived inside the main shaft of the coal pit but could not locate any of the miners.

“The rescue operation is still on and our divers dived yesterday (Thursday) to locate the trapped miners but could not locate any of them. There is nothing in the main shaft of the coal pit. We have used all our equipment with us including SONAR to find out if any of the miners are trapped in the main shaft,” NDRF Assistant Commandant Santosh Kumar Singh, told IANS.

Asked if the rescuers have lost hope to evacuate the trapped miners over ground, Singh said, “Rescuers never lose hope. We are all putting our best efforts to rescue them.”

However, the relatives of the trapped miners are losing hope and are expecting a miracle to occur.