On January 14, Bhogi day, Chennai faced dense smog early in the morning. The Regional Meteorological Centre reported visibility dropped as low as 300 metres near Chennai airport around 7 a.m., lasting for about an hour. This was worse than last year's 400 metres. Aerodrome Meteorological Office officials said visibility steadily fell from 4:30 a.m. and improved to 800 metres by 9 a.m. Flight cancellations were kept minimal as some airlines rescheduled flights earlier, anticipating poor conditions. V.R. Durai, director in-charge of the Aerodrome Meteorological Office, said poor visibility lasted from 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. due to smog in calm weather. "Visibility below 800 metres would affect flight operations," he noted. Factors like light winds, high humidity above 90%, and stable pressure helped smog and fog stay longer. During winter, low sunlight causes shallow air mixing, allowing moisture and pollutants from Bhogi fires to remain trapped. Durai added, "Fog conditions are expected to continue till Saturday (January 17) due to cold winds from central India." Airport officials reported six flight delays and cancellations of flights to Bengaluru, Kochi, and Mumbai. Visibility fell steadily from 4 a.m. and sharply dropped to 300 metres at 8 a.m. at the main runway's Pallavaram end. An official said, "We held a meeting with airlines to reduce flight impact. Some flights to and from New Delhi, Coimbatore, Pune, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Kuala Lumpur were rescheduled early on January 13." Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre announced that the Northeast monsoon will end soon. Dry weather will return to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal from January 15. In the last 24 hours, Oothu in Tirunelveli received the highest rainfall of 9 cm. Other areas like Sivagangai, Nagapattinam, and Pudukottai had moderate rain.