Orissa residents breathed a sigh of relief as several parts of the state witnessed a slight rise in temperatures Thursday after week-long cold wave conditions.
The western towns of Koraput, Sambalpur, and Sundergarh were among the places that recorded minimum temperatures of less then 10 degrees Celsius over the past week.
The minimum temperatures recorded Thursday morning in the three towns were 13.1, 11.9 and 12.9 degrees respectively, an official of the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre told IANS.
The temperature also rose in state capital Bhubaneswar, adjoining Cuttack, the temple town of Puri, and the port town of Gopalpur. They have recorded minimum temperatures of 16.3, 16.0, 19.4, and 18.9 degrees, he said.
“The rise in minimum temperatures is mainly due to increase in the moisture content in the atmosphere and cloudy conditions,” S.C. Sahu, director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar told IANS.
“There may be a fall in temperatures again as soon as the moisture and cloud conditions get cleared,” he said.
“The rise in temperature has brought us respite. We hope to celebrate the New Year in better climatic conditions,” said Ranjan Mohapatra, a college student at Phulbani, which recorded a rise in minimum temperature from 6.2 degrees Dec 26 to 10.4 degrees Wednesday.
