New Delhi: Delhi and the National Capital Region woke up to an unusual mix of fog and haze on Tuesday morning — a phenomenon more typical of winter — as moisture from a western disturbance combined with dust carried by west winds, meteorological experts said.
Although fog in March is rare, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said such episodes have occurred in the past. On Tuesday, the haze lingered over several parts of the capital until noon, with denser conditions observed toward Uttar Pradesh.
Visibility dropped to 600 metres at Hindon between 7am and 8am, IMD officials said.
Despite the foggy start, the weather offered little relief from the heat. Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 35.5°C, around seven degrees above normal, according to IMD. The city recorded 35.3°C a day earlier.
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The maximum temperature is expected to rise further and may touch 37°C on Wednesday. However, the IMD said a western disturbance over northwest India from March 14 could bring some respite, lowering max temperatures to between 32°C and 34°C over the weekend.
IMD scientist RK Jenamani said the hazy conditions were linked to an increase in moisture due to the influence of a western disturbance currently affecting the western Himalayan region. A stable boundary layer at lower levels, combined with easterly winds, also contributed to the moisture build-up.
“It is not very unusual as in the past too we have seen dense fog in the region in March. This includes a March 6-8 spell in 2008, which triggered the failure of critical electrical power transmission lines across north India,” Jenamani said.
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet Weather, said the haze was formed as moisture trapped dust particles transported by westerly winds. “Over the past few days, winds from the west brought dust from Balochistan and the Thar Desert. With moisture increasing due to easterly winds and the western disturbance, dust got trapped, creating haze,” Palawat said.
Night temperatures too remained high. Delhi’s minimum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 18.8°C, five degrees above normal, and marginally below the 19°C a day earlier. The IMD expects minimum temperatures to remain between 17°C and 19°C until March 15, before dipping slightly to around 14-16°C by March 16.
The dust also pushed up pollution levels. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 265 (poor) on Tuesday, up from 209 (poor) the previous day. While PM2.5 and PM10 remained the dominant pollutants, ground-level ozone (O3) has increasingly emerged as a concern in recent weeks. Typically, ozone becomes a key pollutant when temperatures rise, from late March to June.