Bhubaneswar: The Odisha capital recorded the fourth coldest night in the month of January since 1952 as mercury plummeted to 9.4°C, senior meteorologist Umasankar Das posted on X on Thursday.
This winter chill has matched the nighttime low last seen on January 3, 1952, repeating a 74-year-old record and sending residents reaching for extra layers of warm clothing amid an ongoing cold wave gripping the state.
Bhubaneswar had recorded the coldest January night at 8.6°C on January 5, 1992, followed by 9°C on January 17, 2003, 9.3°C on January 15, 2012, and 9.4°C on January 3, 1952 and January 8, 2026.
This significant drop comes as northwesterly cold winds continue to sweep across Odisha.
The mercury has plunged by 9.2°C in the state capital in the last four days , with mercury touching 10.2°C on January 7. The city had recorded a minimum temperature of 18.6°C on January 4, 18°C on January 5, 15.4°C on January 6.
On Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of cold wave conditions in Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Balasore, Khurda, Angul, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Sonepur and Nabarangpur till January 9 morning.
Yellow warning of dense fog was also issued for Boudh, Nayagarh and Koraput till January 8 morning.
Notably, the night temperature in G Udayagiri had dropped to 3°C on January 7, making it the coldest place in Odisha. Semiliguda in Koraput closely followed at 4.1°C, while Phulbani, also in Kandhamal, recorded 5°C, Rourkela (5.1°C) and Jharsuguda (5.4°C). The minimum temperatures in places like Daringbadi (7°C), Kirei (7.4°C), Keonjhar (7.6°C), Chiplima in Sambalpur (7.7°C), Sundargarh (7.8°C), Bhawanipatna (7.8°C) and Angul (8°C) hovered between 7 and 8°C.
The mercury had plunged to 9.6°C in Cuttack.
