Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar awoke up to a veil of thick fog on Thursday morning, which cast a dramatic pall over the dawn of 2026.
A dense blanket of mist enveloped large swathes of the city of temples in the early hours, drastically slashing visibility and grinding daily life to a cautious crawl.
According to senior meteorologist Umasankar Das, visibility plummeting to as low as 50 meters in several areas, including Biju Patnaik International Airport, at 8.30 am. “I could barely make out the road ahead while driving at dawn—it was downright treacherous. I had to drop my speed dramatically and tail other vehicles just to stay safe,” recounted Ramesh Behera, a resident of Chandrasekharpur.
ରାଜଧାନୀ ଭୁବନେଶ୍ୱର ରେ 50ମିଟର କୁ ଖସିଲା ଦୃଶ୍ୟମାନ ଦୂରତା
ସକାଳ 8ଟା ରୁ 8ଟା 30 ଯାଏଁ 50ମିଟର ସହ ଘନ କୁହୁଡି pic.twitter.com/MmIdte2XHs
— usd (@usd0705) January 1, 2026
Persistent fog has already delayed flights, trains, and road travel in the state, adding to the winter woes amid an ongoing cold wave.
Odisha along with northern states like Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi may witness prolonged foggy mornings through early January.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange and yellow warning of dense to very dense fog for the state till early hours of January 5. Very dense fog may occur at isolated pockets in districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Puri till January 2 morning. Dense fog is also likely in Balasore, Gajapati, Ganjam, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh,
Kandhamal, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Kandhamal and Angul during this period.
Very dense fog may occur in Jagatsinghpur and dense fog at isolated pockets in districts of Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati during the subsequent 24 hours.
Similarly, very dense fog likely may occur at isolated pockets in districts of Jagatsinghpur and Puri, and dense fog in Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Kandhamal & Sundargarh till January 4.
The weather agency further stated that very dense fog may occur at isolated pockets in districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Khurda, Jajpur, Cuttack and Puri, and dense to very dense fog in Balasore, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj till early hours of January 5.
It has also forecast a gradual rise in the night temperature by 2-3 degree during the next 4 days.
