BHUBANESWAR: After a slight relief over the past couple of days, intense cold wave condition is likely to grip the State again with mercury set to plummet across the districts in next 48 hours.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that temperatures will go down significantly under the influence of dry and cold northwesterly winds. There, however, was no rainfall warning for Odisha even as slightly cloudy conditions prevailed over many parts on Friday.
“In next 48 hours, the minimum temperatures are expected to dip by 3 degree Celsius to 4 degree Celsius across the State. The cold wave condition will likely continue till December 30. The minimum temperature in the Capital City will remain around 10 degrees Celsius,” Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Director HR Biswas said.
Director of Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) Sarat Chandra Sahu said the cold wave condition in the State was prevailing due to the upper air trough over central India which was moving towards the eastern region. “The cold wave condition is prevailing under the influence of the upper air trough. The trough will likely cross Odisha on Saturday and move towards the Bay of Bengal. High speed wind from northwest had recently led to dipping of temperature in the State,” he said.
Sahu further said the cold wave condition will be intense in Keonjhar, Balasore, Sundargarh and Jharsuguda districts. “The temperature is expected to gradually increase from December 31 or January 1,” he added.On the day, Keonjhar emerged the coldest place in the State with a temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius.