Odisha reels under intense cold wave; G Udayagiri records season’s lowest at 3.1degrees C

Bhubaneswar, Dec 12 (PTI) An intense cold wave swept several parts of Odisha as the state recorded the season’s lowest temperature of 3.1 degrees Celsius at G Udayagiri, a hill station in Kandhamal district, the IMD said on Friday.

The chill has severely affected normal life as minimum temperature remained below 10 degree Celsius in at least 15 places in 11 of the 30 districts, an official said.

Semiliguda, another hill station in Koraput, came a close second at 3.6 degree Celsius, followed by Phulbani and Daringbadi, both in Kandhamal district, recording 5.5 degrees Celsius and and 6.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Other places where the mercury plummeted below 10 degrees Celsius include Chipilima in Bargarh (6.6), Rourkela (7.2), Jharsuguda (7.1), Bhawanipatna (7.5), Koraput (8.1), Kirei in Sundergarh (8.4), Angul (8.6), Bolangir (9), Nabarangpur (9.2), Sundergarh and Keonjhar at 9.6 degrees Celsius each.

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 12.6 degrees Celsius and 11.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The Indian Meteorological Centre (IMD) in a statement said there has been no major change in night temperature across the state for next 6-7 days and forecast shallow to moderate fog in Sundergarh, Kandhamal and Kalahandi in the coming days.

A report from Kandhamal said a thin layer of ice was seen on tree leaves, and fish were found dead in water bodies due to the intense cold conditions. Persistent cold waves over the past two weeks have forced residents to remain indoors from 6 pm to 9 am. PTI AAM AAM MNB