BHUBANESWAR: Biting cold conditions showed no signs of relenting across the State on Tuesday as mercury dipped below 12 degrees Celsius in at least 19 places. The Indian Meteorological Department said Phulbani continued to shiver for the second consecutive day and remained the coldest place in the State with the temperature plunging to 5 degrees Celsius. Temperature also fell to single digit in Daringibadi (6 degrees C), Keonjhar (7.2), Angul (8.6), Sonepur (9), Balasore (9.5), Titlagarh (9.5) and Jharsuguda (9.6).
Places where the temperature was between 10 and 12 degree C were Chandbali (11.8), Cuttack (11.4), Baripada (10), Sundargarh (10), Hirakud (10.1), Talcher (10.3), Bhawanipatna (10), Balangir (11) and Koraput (11.6).
The State Capital, which had witnessed a record low temperature of 9.9 degrees Celsius for the month of December in the last 11 years, also shivered at 11.2 degrees Celsius. Besides, temperature in coastal towns of Puri, Gopalpur and Paradip remained between 13 degrees Celsius and 15 degrees Celsius.
The extreme cold condition has crippled life in parts of Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Phulbani, Koraput, Kalahandi and Sonepur districts. Sources said in absence of adequate night shelters, the needy and homeless have been left in a lurch and are spending nights at bus stands, railway stations and other public places.
Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi has asked district Collectors to provide shelters to the needy in school buildings during night. Meanwhile, the weather office said cold conditions may continue for some more days. “No major change was observed in minimum temperatures across Odisha. The temperature was appreciably below normal in North Odisha and below normal in South Odisha,” the IMD said.
Met Director HR Biswas said shallow fog occurred at isolated places in Kandhamal district while weather remained dry in most places across Odisha. Such cold conditions will continue till December 26, he added.
Moderate amount of rain is also expected at a few places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi on December 27, Biswas said.
Fog delays 45 flights
Bhubaneswar: Dense fog enveloping New Delhi and other parts of northern India led to a massive delay in flight and train movements from the national capital on Tuesday. While 45 flights had to be delayed after visibility dropped to 50 metre in Delhi, air travellers had a harrowing time. The impact was felt on New Delhi-Bhubaneswar route too. Flight schedules were pushed by several hours and regular travellers were stuck either at the airport or had to wait for several hours. “My flight was supposed to take off at 4 pm but took off at 10.50 pm. It was a terrible wait,” said a passenger of a private airline while another had to cancel an afternoon flight. Due to the presence of suspended particulate and moisture, foggy conditions prevailed in the national capital for the second consecutive day while the weather office predicted that similar conditions may continue through the weekend. Train movements to the State from Delhi and other parts of North India are also likely to be affected because of the fog.