Bhubaneswar: With cold wave sweeping Odisha, the mercury dropped to 8.5°C and 8.7°C in the hill stations of Daringbadi and G Udayagiri respectively in Kandhamal district in the last 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Wednesday.
The minimum night temperature hovered around 10°C in Phulbani, Rourkela and Jharsuguda. Phulbani, also in Kandhamal, recorded 10°C, followed by Rourkela (10.5°C) and Jharsuguda (10.6°C).
Jharsuguda saw a sharp drop of 6.5°C from the normal, the highest in the state. Angul at 12.6°C was 5..9°C notches below normal.
The other places in the state, where mercury plummeted below 15°C, are as follows: Chipilima in Bargarh (10.9°C), Kirei in Sundargarh (11.3°C), Keonjhar (12.4°C), Sundargarh (12.6°C), Koraput and Semiliguda at 13.2°C each, Balangir (13.3°C), Bhawanipatna and Dhenkanal at 13.5°C each, Sonepur (14.1°C), Sambalpur (14.2°C), Jajpur and Mahisapat in Dhenkanal at 14.6°C each, and Hirakud (14.8°C).
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 15.5°C and 15.2°C respectively.
The IMD further informed about dense fog engulfing Rourkela, where the night temperature has dropped by 5.7°C in the last 6 days, from 16.2°C on November 7 to 10.5°C on November 12. Moderate fog also occurred in Bhawanipatna.
The drop in the mercury levels is being attributed to strong flow of northwesterly winds towards Odisha.
The weather agency had issued a cold wave warning for three districts of Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Kandhamal while predicting a further drop in the night temperature by 2-3°C in the last 24 hours. The minimum temperature is likely to remain unchanged for the next 4 days, and thereafter rise by 3-4°C across the state, it added.
