Delhi and its neighboring areas, including Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram, woke up to a dense layer of fog early Friday morning, bringing visibility on highways and roads down to zero as of 6 a.m.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport issued an advisory at 4:30 a.m., cautioning passengers about potential flight delays due to the severe drop in visibility. Over 100 flights have already been delayed, according to Flightradar. Train operations have also been impacted, with visuals from New Delhi Railway Station highlighting the extremely low visibility caused by the thick fog.

Major areas such as ITO, Rajokri, and the Barapullah flyover reported zero visibility. However, no major traffic disruptions have been recorded so far.

Amid the return of dense fog, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) slipped back into the “severe” category, with a reading of 409 recorded at 6 a.m. The city’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 357 on Thursday, reflecting a sharp deterioration from earlier in the week.

IMD predicts that foggy conditions will persist through the weekend, although visibility may see slight improvement on Saturday due to expected light rainfall. The minimum temperature in Delhi is projected to drop further to 5°C, intensifying the ongoing cold wave.