Bhubaneswar: With the cyclonic storm Phethai crossing the Odisha coast, the cold wave will grip the state in the next 48 hours, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said in a release.
The intensity of the cold in the state had appreciably come down under the influence of the cyclonic storm as it had prevented the northerly wind from blowing from the Himalayan range across to Odisha. Now that the cyclonic storm has weakened and crossed the Odisha coast, the cold wave from the north has started blowing across the state from December 18 and will intensify in the next 48 hours from December 22 which will result in a gradual fall in the night temperature by 2-3 degree Celsius in the coastal region. By December 24, the night temperature will plummet to about 5 degree Celsius in the central and western Odisha, the release said.
According to the temperature recorded till 8.30 am on Thursday, Phulbani, Daringbadi and Sundargarh had recorded the lowest temperature at 9 degree Celsius while it remained below 11 degree Celsius in Angul (10.6), Keonjhar (10) and Sonepur (10.4). Besides, the temperature was under 12 degree Celsius in most parts of the western and southern districts.
Temperature also came down by about 3 degrees in the twin cities of Cuttack (12.8) and Bhubaneswar (13.9).
