Met Office issues yellow fog warning as travel disruption hits London

A yellow fog warning issued by the Met Office has blanketed London and surrounding regions, severely restricting visibility and triggering widespread travel disruption for motorists, rail passengers, and airline travellers.

The fog warning, which was announced late on Saturday evening, created hazardous conditions across multiple regions during the morning rush hour. According to the Yahoo News UK report, visibility dropped below 100m in dense patches, affecting London alongside the East Midlands, East of England, South East England, North West England, South West England, the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, and areas of Wales including Denbighshire, Monmouthshire, Powys, Torfaen, and Wrexham. Metro reporting noted that while the initial warning expired at 10am, persistent fog lingered in some rural and eastern locations into the afternoon.

Media additions

The sudden drop in visibility severely impacted aviation. Mirror coverage highlighted that Ryanair issued a formal travel update warning passengers of flight delays across the UK, advising travellers to monitor the airline's app for updates. The Traveler added that London City Airport and London Gatwick Airport faced heightened risks due to their coastal and estuary locations, where low cloud and persistent fog forced air traffic control to space aircraft movements further apart, creating terminal backlogs and rescheduled departures.

Road and rail corridors experienced similar slowdowns. Motorists navigating key routes such as the M25 orbital motorway, M1, M3, and M4 encountered heavy queues as reduced visibility and residual surface moisture slowed traffic. On the railways, commuter services operating into major London termini including Waterloo, Paddington, Euston, and King’s Cross ran at reduced speeds along exposed tracks, according to regional transport dashboards.

This foggy episode followed a turbulent meteorological week for the UK. Earlier storm systems—namely Storm Austen and Storm Boelo—battered the country with high winds, gusts reaching nearly 80mph on the Isle of Wight, and heavy rainfall that produced England's wettest week since October 2024. Despite those heavy rains leaving many river levels elevated, much of the country remained officially in drought, particularly across parts of the South West and Sussex, before high pressure settled over southern Britain to create the radiative cooling responsible for the recent morning fog.

The broader meteorological picture remains complex. While southern Britain experienced high pressure and morning fog, the BBC reported concurrent severe winter hazards across northern Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, where heavy snow, sub-zero temperatures dropping to -10.9C in Cumbria, and ice warnings led to school closures and airport suspensions at hubs like Sumburgh and Kirkwall.

What to Watch Next

• Monitor updated Met Office weather forecasts for potential overnight mist and fog episodes in southern England.
• Check specific airline and airport advisory feeds before travelling through London terminals.
• Review ongoing transport operator notifications for residual delays across road and rail networks as outlined in our Transport coverage.