Auckland travel live updates: Auckland Airport flights cancelled and delayed as thick fog blankets the city

Dozens of flights have been cancelled or delayed from Auckland as a thick layer of fog blankets the city.

Meteorologists warn that the fog will not disappear and will persist until the afternoon.

Updated figures for cancelled and delayed flights can be found in the live blog below.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is also warning motorists to exercise caution as fog affects visibility for road users.

An Auckland Airport spokesperson said fog restrictions were put in place at 1.10am this morning.

THE STORY CONTINUES AFTER THE LIVEBLOG

THE STORY CONTINUES

MetService meteorologist Surprise Mhlongo said the fog was not going away anytime soon.

He said they expect the fog to persist until the early hours of the afternoon before bringing only a brief respite.

“It will come back early this evening and will last until tomorrow morning.”

He said there were areas of thick fog across the North Island, but none as severe as in Auckland and Northland.

Fifteen regional flights were delayed as well as five major domestic flights.

Nine flights were cancelled.

International flights were not affected by the foggy conditions.

NZTA has urged motorists to take extra care on the roads this morning due to “reduced visibility”.

“Remember to keep your lights on, allow extra time and be aware of your distance from the vehicle.”

Last month, more than 100 flights from Auckland Airport were delayed or cancelled due to heavy fog.

MetService forecaster Lewis Ferris said a mix of bad ingredients was behind the persistent fog.

He said the low angle of the sun due to the winter solstice, high clouds blocking the sun and the lack of wind created perfect foggy conditions.

The weather conditions also impacted the city’s transportation system.

Rare polar phenomenon could bring stormy conditions

Residents in the upper North Island are being urged to prepare for extreme weather, with strong winds, heavy rain, landslides and flooding possible.

After a week of clear blue skies and record high pressure, a moisture-laden northeasterly flow is expected to bring dramatically different weather to open the second half of the school holidays.

Auckland was hit by a series of electrical storms yesterday. The Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and western Rotorua were also in the firing line, with the MetService issuing orange-level heavy rain warnings for those areas.

It comes as meteorologists are closely monitoring signs of a rare phenomenon deep in New Zealand that could ultimately influence stormy conditions here in the coming weeks.

The so-called “sudden stratospheric warming” (SSW) occurs when the temperature of the stratosphere (i.e. the layer of the atmosphere between 30 and 50 km above the ground) above the South Pole increases by more than 25°C.

At present, Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said a “warming pattern” was being observed in the stratosphere over East Antarctica – and that it was possible it was reaching the threshold of becoming a “minor” SSW event.

Such events were rare in the southern hemisphere, with only three – in 2002, 2010 and 2019 – recorded in the satellite era.