Bhubaneswar, Nov 28 (IANS) Parts of Orissa continued to shiver in a cold wave Saturday with Phulbani town recording a temperature of 8.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the state, an official said.
The cold wave forced people to stay indoors for several hours in the morning. A large number of people irrespective of their age were seen huddling around bonfires to keep themselves warm in Phulbani town, about 200 km from here, an eyewitness said.

The minimum temperature has dipped below ten degrees in several places in western parts of the state but most of the state’s coastal regions remained warmer.

The towns in the western districts which recorded a temperature below ten degrees include Sambalpur 8.9, Bolangir 9.8, Sundergarh 9.9, and Bhabanipatna 9.5 degrees Celsius, an official at the Bhubaneswar meteorological office told IANS.

“The temperatures were recorded early in the morning,” he said.

The state capital Bhubaneswar however remained warmer, recording a minimum temperature of 13.9 degrees, the official said.

The coastal towns which also remained warmer were Puri, Gopalpur, Paradip, Balasore recording a minimum temperature of 17.1, 16.1, 15.2 and 14.6 degrees Celsius respectively, he said.