Winter Chill Returns, Temperature Falls By 3-5 Degree C In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The winter chill seems to have returned to Odisha even as India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday forecast a drop in the night temperature by 3 to 5 degree Celsius during the next 2 days.

Shallow to moderate fog is also likely to occur at one or two places in Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Koraput, Balangir, Sonepur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh till 8.30 am on Friday.

Notably, the mercury dropped by a few notches at several places in the state in the last 24 hours with Ranital in Bhadark recording the lowest minimum temperature of 11.4 degree Celsius followed by Balasore at 11.7 degree Celsius, G Udayagiri in Kandhamal and Dhenkanal at 12 degree Celsius each and Daringbadi in Kandhamal at 13 degree Celsius.

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 15.8 degree Celsius and 15.2 degree Celsius respectively.

The IMD also informed about dense fog engulfing Cuttack, Angul and Balangir while shallow to moderate fog was seen in Sambalpur, Hirakud, Phulbani, Baripada and Bhawanipatna.

Notably, mercury has dropped to several degrees below freezing point in Kashmir and large parts of Dal lake in Srinagar have frozen. Pahalgam of the Anantnag district was the coldest at a minimum temperature of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night. According to the MeT office, snowfall is expected on Sunday and Monday.