BHUBANESWAR: Odisha continued to reel under cold wave conditions for the second consecutive day on Friday as temperatures plunged across the state.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), severe cold wave persisted in Jharsuguda and Angul in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Friday. While Jharsuguda recorded 4.6 degree Celsius, below normal by 7.2 degree Celsius, Angul 7 degree Celsius (-6.8 deg C), Bhubaneswar 9.4 deg C (-5.6 deg C), Cuttack 8.6 deg C (-4.9 deg C) and Rourkela 3.6 deg C. Rourkela and Jharsuguda recorded their all-time lowest minimum night temperature even as Cuttack recorded its fifth all-time lowest minimum temperature in the last 72 years, said the weather experts.
Rourkela was the fourth coldest city in the plains across the country on Friday morning, after Pantnagar in Uttarakhand, which recorded 2.5 deg C, Daltonganj in Jharkhand 3.2 deg C and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh 3.4 deg C.
As cold weather condition intensified in Odisha, at least 19 places recorded below 10 deg C on Friday morning. The IMD said the minimum night temperature was below normal by 5 deg C to 7 deg C at a few places in north interior and south coastal districts and below normal by 3 deg C to 5 deg C at many places in coastal districts during the period.
The regional met office has forecast cold wave at isolated places in Jharsuguda, Cuttack, Khurda and Angul districts on Saturday morning. Similarly, cold wave may persist at isolated places in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Angul and Dhenkanal districts between Saturday night and Sunday morning. The weather experts attributed the cold weather condition to the north-westerly to northerly winds blowing towards Odisha.
However, there is no cold wave forecast for Odisha from Sunday night on wards and the minimum night temperature is likely to rise by 2 deg C to 3 deg C at many places in the state. The state is likely to experience a fresh bout of cold wave later in the month, met officials said.