Delhi-NCR unexpected fog in hot weather due to Iran oil fires? A surprising Balochistan link emerges

Delhi and the National Capital region (NCR) woke up to an unusual mix of fog and haze on Tuesday morning despite the rising temperatures in March. Reports suggested that the unseasonal haze and fog in Delhi was due to the bombing of Iran's oil infrastructure, as attacks led to fires that are likely to have a long-term impact on the environment. But Mahesh Palawat from private weather agency Skymet told TOI that the haze, caused by dust was carried from Balochistan and the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Experts said that the haze and fog in Delhi-NCR on Tuesday was not caused by smoke and soot rising from oil depots and facilities in war-hit Iran that have been burning for three days.

Fog in Delhi

Although fog in March is rare, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said such episodes have occurred in the past, reported Hindustan Times. On Tuesday, the haze lingered over several parts of the capital until noon, with denser conditions observed toward Uttar Pradesh. On Tuesday, fog/haze was seen over north India from Haryana to Bengal. The lowest visibility in NCR was recorded at 600m at Hindon Airport at 7-8 am.

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"Satellite images show the plume has travelled close to 500km, around a fourth of the distance to India. It's unlikely to survive long enough to impact air quality here, unless the fires persist with high intensity and mix with dust storms," air pollution expert Gufran Beig from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru was quoted as saying by TOI.

After Iran's oil infrastructure were bombed, reports emerged that the toxic smoke could spread across the globe and also reach India. "The wind direction is likely to be favourable for transport of soot from Iran towards India. But whether it will actually travel that far depends on many factors such as the type of smoke, its depth in the atmosphere and its capacity to persist in the air. These are outside the IMD's purview," IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told TOI.

Officials from the India Meteorological Department said the haze covering North India formed due to moisture-laden easterly winds moving into the region, while calm conditions at lower atmospheric levels prevented the dispersion of pollutants, allowing the haze to persist across several areas. "Data shows that during early March, dense fog has occurred in the region. On March 6-8, 2008, fog triggered failure of power transmission lines across north India," R K Jenamani, senior scientist at IMD, told TOI.

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According to Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather, the haze blanketing parts of north India is likely the result of dust mixing with moisture under the influence of an active western disturbance. He added that another western disturbance could impact the region in the coming days, potentially leading to a slight dip in daytime temperatures from March 14 onward, along with chances of rainfall around March 15.

"This is haze, caused by dust carried from Balochistan and the Thar Desert of Rajasthan," Palawat said.

Delhi weather today

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 expects the maximum and minimum to hover around 35-37 degrees and 17-19 degrees C on Wednesday, and gradually reduce by March 15.

(With inputs from TOI)