Bhubaneswar: With the onset of winter, the nighttime temperature is on a downward spiral across the state with 22 out of 28 weather stations recording minimum temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius Saturday night.
Daringbadi in Kandhamal district was the coldest Saturday night with 9.5 degrees Celsius, followed by Koraput and Phulbani recording 12.2 degrees Celsius and 12.6 degrees Celsius respectively.
According to Bhubaneswar centre of India Meteorological Centre, six towns recorded below 15 degrees Celsius Saturday night. They are Daringbadi, Phulbani, Koraput, Keonjhar (14.2), Titilagarh (14.3) and Jharsuguda (14.6).
Meanwhile, Paralakhemundi was the hottest at 22.5 degrees Celsius.
The temperatures Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded Saturday night were 17 and 18 degrees Celsius respectively.
To enjoy the nip in the air, tourists have already started camping in Daringbadi. Sunday being a holiday, visitors were seen enjoying the winter in Daringbadi and nearby areas such as Kilabadi, Greenbadi, Simanbadi, Kirikuti, Badabanga, Sonepur and Parttamaha. At the same time, the plummet in the temperature has made poorer sections worried.
Meanwhile, the regional Met centre informed that a cyclonic circulation currently lays over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining equatorial Indian Ocean off Sumatra coast. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood around November 9.
The system is likely to become more marked and move west-northwestward towards north Tamil Nadu coast during the subsequent 48 hours, it added.
PNN