The first day of the New Year in Odisha was shrouded in a severe fog blanket, bringing life across the state capital Bhubaneswar and several other cities to a virtual standstill. Intense cold conditions accompanied the dense fog, which reduced visibility to as low as 50 metres, disrupting air, rail, and road traffic significantly.
Transportation Chaos: Flights Diverted, Trains Stranded
The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar was rendered non-operational for four crucial hours from 6 am to 10 am, confirmed airport director Prasanna Pradhan. This led to the diversion of five incoming flights. Three flights from Delhi, and one each from Bangalore and Chennai, were forced to land at alternative airports in Raipur and Kolkata. Departures were also hampered, with a flight to Dehradun delayed by four hours. Services only began normalizing after 10 am.
The rail network faced even more severe disruptions. Several north-bound, intercity, and local trains ran hours behind schedule on Thursday. In a major delay, the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express arrived in Bhubaneswar a staggering 7 hours and 27 minutes late. The situation was worse for the ANVT-Puri Purushottam Express, which reached Puri 11 hours and 14 minutes behind schedule. Another service, the ANVT-Puri Neelanchal Express, arrived at Puri at 4.44 am on Thursday instead of its scheduled 5.55 pm on Wednesday.
Widespread Disruption on Roads and Water
Road traffic within Bhubaneswar and on national highways passing through the capital and other towns was severely restricted, with drivers facing hazardous conditions. Sarthak Das, a government employee commuting from Phulnakhara, echoed the difficulties faced by many, stating, "It was very challenging to drive on the highway due to dense fog. I got delayed in reaching my office." The disruption extended to waterways, with a ferry inside the Chilika lake getting stranded due to the poor visibility.
IMD's Severe Warning and Intensifying Cold
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that districts including Nayagarh, Angul, Sambalpur, Talcher, Dhenkanal, and Boudh experienced "very dense fog" with visibility plummeting below 50 metres. Bhubaneswar, Paradip, Khurda, Keonjhar, and several other towns witnessed dense fog conditions.
Issuing a stern warning, the IMD bulletin stated that an orange alert for very dense fog would continue in 11 districts—Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Kendrapara, Angul, Dhenkanal, Sonepur, Boudh, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Cuttack, and Khurda—for the next four days starting Friday. A yellow warning for dense fog is also in place for districts including Kandhamal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj.
Scientist and head of the regional IMD centre, Manorama Mohanty, explained that wind patterns and moisture availability are supporting the continuation of the dense fog. The fog has ushered in a sharp cold wave, with night temperatures dropping by 2°C to 6°C from the normal in coastal and north interior areas. Minimum temperatures at 14 places dipped below 10°C. Daringibadi was the coldest at 7.5°C, followed by Jharsuguda at 7.8°C, while Bhubaneswar recorded 12.7°C.
