Severe cold wave in Odisha: 5 places slip below 10 degrees Celsius, IMD issues dense fog alert

Dense fog engulfed several parts of Odisha this morning even as persistent chill owing to a coldwave continued to throw normal lives out of gear more than ten days since the start of the new year.

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack remain shrouded in intense fog with visibility dropping to approximately 30 meters. Major roads and stretches including the National Highways passing through the cities remained barely visible, causing severe inconvenience to goods-laden trucks and morning commuters.

Meanwhile, dense fog also gripped other major settlements of the state, causing inconvenience to the public. As per a forecast made by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the foggy conditions are expected to persist in the coming days across many districts.

ALSO READ: Minimum temp to rise, IMD issues yellow alert for dense fog in Odisha districts

A yellow fog alert has been issued for the districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Angul, and Dhenkanal by the weather department for today. Additionally, another yellow warning for tomorrow has also been issued for parts of Angul, Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, Koraput, Sundargarh, and Sambalpur districts.

In a sign of respite, the IMD also predicted a rise in the state's temperature by 2 to 4 degrees in the coming days. The cold wave may likely subside in the next three days in both interior and coastal areas of the state.

ALSO READ: Tourist bus falls off bridge due to dense fog in Nayagarh; 1 dead, 30 injured

Incidentally, on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, Similiguda recorded a minimum temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest among cities in Odisha. Similarly, Phulbani at 7.5, Jharsuguda at 7.6, Rourkela at 7.9, and Kirei at 8.8 degrees Celsius followed as the next cities to record temperatures of less than 10 degrees Celsius.