Rourkela & Jharsuguda Record Below Normal Night Temp; Mercury May Rise Again After 3 Days

Bhubaneswar: With cold and dry air blowing from northwest towards Odisha amid weakening of the western disturbance, the night temperature dropped by a few notches below normal in some norther districts of the state in the last 24 hours, senior meteorologist Umasankar Das posted on X on Wednesday.

Rourkela and Jharsuguda recorded 8°C each, a drop of 4°C and 3.3°C below normal respectively, he added.

Semiliguda in Koraput and G Udayagiri, a hill station in Kandhamal, were the coldest at 7.5°C. Kerei in Sundargarh at 8.8°C, Daringbadi in Kandhamal at 9°C and Koraput at 9.2°C, which was 3.6 °C below normal, were the other two places where the mercury plummeted below 10°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The night temperature rose to 15°C and 15.5°C respectively in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar after hovering around 14°C for three days. 

Dense fog engulfed Phulbani, which recorded 10.5°C. Moderate fog occurred in Keonjhar (11°C) and shallow fog in Paradip and Bhawanipatna. 

The weather agency has warned of dense fog at one or two places in Sundargarh and Kandhamal districts till January 10 morning. Shallow to moderate fog may occur at one or two places in Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts till January 9 morning and in Angul, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi, Rayagada and Jharsuguda during the subsequent 24 hours.

Odisha is unlikely to witness a large change in the minimum temperature for the next 3 days, following which the mercury may rise by 2-4°C across the state, it added.