Chill paralyzes life in Kandhamal

Date 23/01/2010
BERHAMPUR: Life in Kandhamal was paralyzed on Friday when the mercury fell to around five degree Celsius in many parts of the district. Phulbani recorded 5.2 degree Celsius, one degree less than Thursday. Temperature in remote areas was much lower than that in the district headquarters town. Phulbani had recorded four degree Celsius in December.

Daringibadi, a block headquarter town, famous for recording the lowest temperature in the state during peak winter recorded three degree Celsius, sources said. It is about 2,500 feet above sea-level.

The cold wave forced people to stay indoors. Many could be seen huddling around bonfires during early morning to keep themselves warm. "It is too cold to venture out of the house during morning hours," a bank employee in Daringibaidi said.

Locals, however, said they had earlier experienced minus temperature in the town and even snowfall. "We have experienced snowfall in the town many times in the past during peak winter," Nityananda Kanhar, a businessmen of Daringibadi said. Although there has been no snowfall in the tourist town this year, it is likely to be freezing in the next one or two days, he said.

Despite the chill, many people from far-flung area of the state come to Daringibadi to experience the winter chill. There was a huge crowd on New Year.

Even coastal areas of the state are experiencing a chilly weather this winter. The minimum temperature of Goplapur, the beach town in Ganjam district was 15.2 degree Celsius.

Snowfall at Daringbadi ?

Date : 3rd January 2010
Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Interior Odisha continued to reel under severe cold wave on Sunday as minimum temperature at five major towns of the state has dipped below 8 degree Celsius. The temperature at Daringbadi in Phulbani and Tensa in Sundargarh touched 0 degree Celsius. Snowfall has been reported in these two centres.

Meanwhile, the temperature in Phulbani is reported to be 4 degree Celsius, Sundargarh 5.9 degree C, Koraput 10.5 degree C, Sambalpur 6.5 degree C, Angul 6 degree C, Bhawanipatna 6.5 degrees C, Jharsuguda 7 degree C, Chandbali 9.8 degrees C, Bhubaneswar 11.3 degrees C and Cuttack 11.6 degree C. The temperature was appreciably below normal over interior pockets and below normal over coastal Odisha. The cold wave would continue for another 48 hours, said an official of the local Met office here.

A stiff breeze and poor visibility due to fog kept people indoors till 10 am in most places. The breeze and dipping temperatures in evening hours also ensured that people remained indoors. The state is impacted by the cold wave prevailing in northern parts of the country, said officials indicating that even neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal were reeling under similar conditions.

Cold wave sweeps in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Jan 3 2010 Chilling cold wave swept across most parts of Orissa today with Phulbani turning the coldest place with four degrees Celsius.

As mercury fell well below the normal level in many parts of the state, the capital city of Bhubaneswar recorded a minimum temperature of 11.3 degrees Celsius.

Most parts in north, west and interior Orissa shivered as the temperature dropped substantially affecting normal life in some places like Daringbadi (0 Degree) and Raikia in Kandhamal where the district headquarter town of Phulbani recorded 4 degrees Celsius, the Met centre said here.

The minimum temperature in Sambalpur was recorded at 5.7 degrees Celsius, while it was 5.9 degrees in Sundargarh, six degrees Celsius at Angul, 7 degrees in Jharsuguda and eight degree Celsius in Keonjhar.

The met office said the cold wave conditions would persist over many parts of the state during the next two days.