Rourkela: With an intense cold wave sweeping across Sundargarh district, night temperature is dipping considerably, making life extremely hard for the residents. Blinding fog during evening and early morning coupled with a mild cold breeze, especially during the wee hours and dusk, is causing temperature to fall considerably. Veterans say the present weather condition has brought alive memories of the Steel City in the olden days. Sources in the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) Environment department said while December 13 the minimum temperature recorded in the City was 11.4 degrees Celsius, it was 11.0 degrees Celsius December 14, and 10.1 degrees Celsius December 15. The lowest in the season of 9.7 degrees Celsius was recorded December 16 morning, indicating the gradual fall of temperature.
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At the same time, in Sundargarh the mercury dipped to 9 degrees Celsius, while Bonai shivered at 7.5 degrees Celsius. City resident Khokan Pradhan said, “I was driving back home from Rajgangpur in my car when it showed 9.9 degrees Celsius on my digital dashboard at around 10 pm as I neared the Bagbudi basti area.” Other motorists also narrated similarly. Another resident, who has a weather thermometer at home, said, “My device showed 9 degrees Celsius when I went to drop my daughter on the school bus in the morning. I saw the same reading on my car’s dashboard.” The extreme cold condition has rendered roads in the City wear a deserted look after 8 pm. “Guests at my son’s wedding reception hurried back home early because of the intense cold wave. By 9.30 pm the function was over,” said Dr Prabhat Mallick, a noted historian from the City.
Bonfires have become a common sight in the morning hours as pavement dwellers, homeless people and stray animals huddle around to get respite from the biting cold and dew. Elsewhere in the district, major urban centres like Sundargarh, Talsara, Rajgangpur, Biramitrapur and Bonai are experiencing intense cold wave. The mining town of Koira, also known for its extreme winter, saw dews solidifying into snowflakes a couple of days ago. “It looked like a white sheet spread across the entire area as mercury dropped considerably low,” said a Koira resident.
