Bhubaneswar: Odisha will experience an intense cold wave from December 17 (Thursday) with a sharp fall in the night temperature by 4-5°C, the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar said on Sunday.
However, there will be no rainfall from December 17, senior meteorologist Dr Surendranath Pasupalak informed.
The meteorologist said there is a minor fluctuation in the night temperature in Odisha as the blowing of the northerly wind from the Himalayan region is blocked under the influence of a high-pressure area over Central India.
He said the high-pressure will gradually move eastwards in the next 48 hours and station over Odisha by December 15.
The high-pressure will gradually move towards the west from December 18 and station over Central India which will facilitate the blowing of the northerly wind towards Odisha.
“The transition of the high-pressure will result in light to moderate rainfall in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and some parts of western Odisha for three days from December 15 due to the blowing of the wind across the Bay of Bengal,” Pasupalak added.
Meanwhile, dense fog engulfed most parts of Balasore and Bhadrak districts in north Odisha on Sunday, disrupting vehicular traffic due to poor visibility.
Besides, vehicular traffic was also partially affected in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack due to moderate fog.
In its morning bulletin, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted dense fog at one or two places over the districts of Rayagada, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Puri, Kendrapara Bhadrak, Kalahandi and Boudh in the next 24 hours.