Capital city records 9.4°C, lowest in Jan in 14 years

Bhubaneswar: With no respite from the chill across the state on Thursday, mercury dipped to 9.4°C, the lowest in Jan in the capital city in the past 14 years, according to the IMD. It was a day after the city experienced 10.2°C, the coldest in Jan in past seven years.On Dec 30, 2018, Bhubaneswar recorded 8.2°C, an all-time low across all months. The all time lowest in the city in Jan stood at 8.6°C recorded on Jan 5, 1992. The city temperature dipped to 9.3°C on Jan 15, 2012. Thursday’s city temperature was sharp 5.6 °C drop compared to normal, IMD report said. Cuttack city at 9.6°C, a 3.9°C drop from normal.Similarly, hill station G Udayagiri in Kandhamal district at 2.5°C was the coldest in the state this season, so far. Another hill station, Semiliguda in Koraput district followed at 3.2°C. Jharsuguda town at 5.8°C saw day’s highest 6°C departure from normal.Official report said night temperature in 24 towns and cities hovered below 10°C early in the morning. Coldwave condition prevailed in Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Angul and Jharsuguda districts.IMD forecast said there would be no large change in prevailing mercury trend and cold condition over two more days. IMD has issued coldwave warning in 11 districts of Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Balasore, Angul, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Nabarangpur over next two days.Head of the regional IMD centre Manorama Mohanty said night temperature would witness a rise by 2°C to 3°C again after two days. Former director of regional IMD centre Sarat Sahu said rise in trend may continue till Jan 11, when again the mercury would dip. He said radiational cooling and wind pattern supported for drop in night temperature.The intense cold made life miserable in several districts, mostly among the poor. Many people preferred to remain indoors till late in the morning. People in several areas could be seen sitting around bonfires to beat the chill. Besides, a drop on visitors was noticed in parks, gardens and joggers’ tracks. Many morning walkers preferred to stay indoors.