Bhubaneswar: Commuters drove cautiously in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning as dense fog enfulfed the city and nearby areas, reducing visibility to 50 metres in many parts.
According to sources, the thick haze persisted beyond 8 am. Flight services from the state capital were also delayed. Some flights could not land at the airport while around seven could not take off for about 30 to 45 minutes due to low visibility.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Puri, where a thick blanket of fog shrouded Shree Jagannath Temple, making it a
ppear as if it had disappeared. The devotees were unable to see the Nilachakra atop the 12th-century shrine from Bada Danda, where traffic crawled due to reduced visibility.
Besides Bhubaneswar and Puri, dense fog also occurred in Paradip, Cuttack and Angul this morning. Moderate fog was seen in Gopalpur, Dhenkanal and Jagatsinghpur.
The India Meteorological Department had issued a dense fog warning for isolated pockets in districts Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Puri, Khurda, Dhenkanal and Cuttack till February 17 morning. Dense fog is also likely to occur in Kendrapada, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Ganjam and Gajapati districts during the subsequent 24 hours. It has also forecast a rise in the night temperature by 2-3 degrees across the state after 2 days.
On February 16, a thick blanket of fog had engulfed Bhadrak district. Dense Fog was also seen in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Khurda in coastal Odisha.