Many parts of Odisha shivered under intense cold wave today with mountainous Daringibadi in Kandhamal district recording Mercury at minus 0.5 degree Celsius.
Located 3,000 feet above the sea level, the high altitude tourist destination of Daringibadi witnessed thin layer of snow on roof tops and trees as the area recorded sub zero degree temperature for past couple of days.
"The minimum temperature stood at 0.5 degree at Daringibadi today," said Ajeet Kumar Sahu of the Meteorological Observatory at Berhampur University.
The temperature at Phulbani, the district headquarter town of Kandhamal, was recorded at 2.4 degrees Celsius as icy wind swept the region, he said.
People in Phulbani, Daringbadi, Khajuripada, Raikia, Balliguda, Kotagarh, and Tumudibandha areas were staying indoors after sunset due to the biting cold.
Kotagarh, Tumudibandha, and Balliguda in the district were also reeling under intense cold.
Other parts of the state also faced biting cold conditions with the temperature dropping to 6.5 degrees Celsius in Koraput, 7.1 degrees in Keonjhargarh and 8 degrees at Bolangir and Hirakud, while state capital Bhubaneswar recorded 11.8 degrees Celsius, the MeT office here said.
It said cold wave could prevail over Odisha and shallow fog may occur over northern parts of the state during the next 24 hours.
