Daringbadi/Phulbani: As the cold wave has started sweeping across Odisha, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the temperature will dip further in the next five days.
Meanwhile, a release by the Meteorological Centre, Tuesday said Phulbani and Daringbadi in Kandhamal district recorded the lowest night temperature at 9 degree Celsius.
Residents have begun feeling the shivering chill as the region reeled under bone-chilling 9 degree Celsius. Normal life has been hit in the tribal-dominated district as mercury level fell with the entire region swept by cold wave.
People are not able to come out of their houses until sunrise due to the severe cold. This is the lowest temperature of the season in the entire state and would further dip, local Meteorological Observatory set up by Berhampur University recorded.
Residents have started warming up around bonfires to get rid of the cold. On the other hand, excess fog in the morning affects vehicular movements in the area. Locals feared the situation would worsen if the chill prevails and feared it might decrease further as December approaches.
“If it is so cold in early November, we are worried what will happen by December,” a local said. The worst sufferers are animals and homeless people. Locals called out the administration to provide blankets and housing facilities for the homeless.
Since the moisture content in the atmosphere is very low, snowfall is yet to be reported from remote areas of the districts.
Winter sets in the region mostly in the second week of November. However, there was a delay in the onset of winter this year due to prolonged rainfall in September followed by the cyclonic storm Titli in October.
On the other hand, other parts of the state reeled under 15 degree Celsius while Cuttack and Bhubaneswar recorded 14 and 13.8 degree Celsius respectively.
The night temperature would most likely fall by about 5 degree Celsius by the next week, MeT reports said.
PNN