Bhubaneswar: With cold wave sweeping Odisha, the minimum night temperature may drop further by 2-3°C during the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Tuesday.
The weather agency has issued a cold wave warning for the districts of Kandhamal, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh on November 11-12. There will be no further drop in the minimum temperature thereafter.
The drop in the mercury levels is being attributed to strong flow of northwesterly winds towards Odisha.
Many parts of the state, including Bhubaneswar, have witnessed a sharp decrease in the minimum temperature since the last one week. The mercury in the state capital plunged from 20.8°C on November 6 to 14.8°C on November 10, with the night-time reading of minimum temperature 5.8 notches below normal. Similarly, the night temperature in neighbouring Cuttack dropped from 22.2°C on November 6 to 16°C on November 10.
Jharsuguda saw the highest drop of almost 7°C in the last 5 days. The western Odisha town had recorded 17.8°C on November 6, which dropped to 11.6°C the previous day.
On Monday, Odisha recorded the season’s lowest temperature of 8.4°C at G Udayagiri in Kandhamal, followed by Daringbadi at 10°C and Phulbani at 11°C.
In the last 24 hours, Daringbadi recorded the lowest minimum night temperature of 9.5°C, while G Udayagiri and Phulbani, also in Kandhamal, were close second and third at 10.5°C and 11°C respectively. Jharsuguda recorded 11.1°C, a sharp drop of 6.8°C from normal.
The other places which witnessed a crisp chill in the air include Chipilima in Bargarh (12°C), Kirei in Sundargarh (12.2°C), Rourkela (12.9°C), Koraput and Semiliguda at 13°C each, Sundargarh (13.2°C), Keonjhar (13.4°C), Angul and Dhenkanal at 13.6°C each and Bhawanipatna (14.8°C). Dense fog was also seen in Rourkela and Koraput and moderate fog in Bhawanipatna.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar & Cuttack recorded 16.2°C and 16.5°C, 4.4°C and 3.1°C below normal respectively.