A blanket of dense fog covered Delhi and its surrounding areas on Wednesday morning as visibility dropped to just 50 metres, disrupting the movement of traffic. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted “dense to very dense fog conditions” over northwest and central India including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 

In Delhi, the Palam observatory near the Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded a visibility level of 125 metres while at the Safdarjung observatory it dropped to just 50 metres. On Tuesday, over 30 flights at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were delayed as fog enveloped the Delhi-NCR region. 

The minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 7 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature is expected to 24 degrees Celsius.

Apart from Delhi, several north Indian cities woke up to foggy weather that reduced visibility. While Patiala, Lucknow and Prayagraj recorded very low visiblity of 25 metres, in Amritsar it dropped to 0 metres. 

According to the weather office, very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, between 51 and 200 metres is dense, between 201 and 500 metres moderate, and between 501 and 1,000 metres shallow.

Israel has warned that its war with Hamas will last for months amid an United Nations alarm over Israeli airstrikes killing over 100 Palestinians in two days in the war-torn Gaza strip.

There are no shortcuts in dismantling a “terrorist organisation”, Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement, adding that the war “will continue for many more months”.

“There are no magic solutions, there are no shortcuts in dismantling a terrorist organization, only determined and persistent fighting. We will reach Hamas leadership too, whether it takes a week or if it takes months,” said Halevi.

The UN last night voiced concern over the continuous Israeli airstrikes as it named an outgoing Dutch minister its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza.

“We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of #Gaza by Israeli forces, which has reportedly claimed over 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve. Israeli forces must take all measures available to protect civilians,” the UN Human Rights office posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Monday, noted three prerequisites to achieve peace: “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarised and Palestinian society must be deradicalised.”

Israel has been bombing Gaza since October 7 after a cross-border Hamas killed 1,200 people in border towns and around 240 were taken hostages. Around 21,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza since.

However, Israeli strikes have raised concerns over the safety of civilians.

UN estimates suggest around 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced with many having fled south. The civilians are suffering from shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine.

It is possible that the explosion near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi is an attack, Tel Aviv has said, putting out an advisory for Israelis living in India and particularly in New Delhi. The advisory asks Israelis to avoid visiting crowded places such as malls and markets, particularly areas frequented by people from the community. It also asks them to stay alert and “avoid externalizing Israeli symbols”.

“Avoid participating in events with many participants that are not secure. Avoid posting trip details on social networks and posting photos and visit details before the trip and in real time,” the advisory says.

A blast took place last evening near the Israel embassy in Chanakyapuri. Officials said nobody was injured in the incident. An “abusive” letter addressed to the Israeli ambassador was found near the site, they added.

Soon after the explosion, teams from Delhi Police crime branch, a bomb disposal squad, a dog squad and the forensic department were rushed to the spot.

The site was also examined by a team from National Investigation Agency.

Israeli embassy spokesperson Guy Nir has said the blast took place around 5.48 pm. “Delhi Police and the security team are still investigating the situation,” he said.

Deputy Chief of Mission (Israel) Ohad Nakash Kaynar said, “All our diplomats and workers are safe. Our security teams are working in full cooperation with local Delhi security and they will investigate the matter further.”

The one-page letter was reportedly sent for forensic examination to check for fingerprints.