Spatiotemporal variability and evolution of day and night winter fog over the Indo Gangetic Basin using INSAT-3D and comparison with surface visibility and aerosol optical depth.

Every year during the peak winter months (December-January), dense and prolonged fog envelops the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) over the Indian sub-continent leading to economic loss. Many efforts are being made to understand its characteristics to improve forecasting skills. In the present work Indian National SATellite (INSAT-3D), a geostationary satellite, retrieved fog data available at every 30 min interval throughout the day and night is used to study its evolution, spatial and temporal variability for the winter months of December 2016 and January 2017 in conjunction with surface measurements.